Every April 26, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) celebrates World Intellectual Property (IP) Day. World IP Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to raise awareness of how patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and designs impact daily life, and to celebrate creativity and contributions made by creators and innovators.
World IP Day 2024 activities
For its part, the USPTO will consider how IP initiatives, programs, or outcomes have furthered the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United States. This includes supporting quality education (SDG 4), supporting industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9), or creating new partnerships for the goals (SDG 17). Other examples include improving access to IP information (SDG 10, “Reduced Inequalities”), and instituting paperless procedures (SDG 12, “Responsible Consumption and Production”).
Capitol Hill program: Join Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Shira Perlmutter, Director of the U.S Copyright Office; Rep. Darrell Issa, Chair of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet; and representatives from USPTO partner organizations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association and others to observe World IP Day 2024 with an in-person gathering at the U.S. Capitol that highlights this year’s theme of "IP and the SDGs." The program will take place Wednesday, May 1 at 4 p.m. ET, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. For more information and to register, visit the registration page for this program.
World IP Day poster exhibit: On Thursday, April 25, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET, come to USPTO headquarters to view an exhibit of posters celebrating World IP Day that were created by high school seniors participating in the agency's IP Skills Work-Based Learning Program. For more information, visit the USPTO event page.
Women’s Entrepreneurship event: During the week of World IP Day, hear how women innovators are impacting industries across the board with intellectual property (IP) protection at the USPTO’s next Women's Entrepreneurship (WE) event, happening virtually and in person on Wednesday, April 24, from noon to 1 p.m. ET at George Mason University’s Mason Enterprise Center in Fairfax, Virginia. For more information and to register, visit the USPTO event page.
World IP Day 2024: IP and the Sustainable Development Goals
Each year’s World IP Day celebration focuses on some aspect of IP. For 2024, the global theme is related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by UN members in 2015: “IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity.” This will offer the opportunity to consider how IP, IP offices, and IP stakeholders throughout the world contribute to or support each of the SDGs.
