ABSTRACT
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property system through cooperation among Member States and other international organizations and through the administration of international treaties. Long dedicated to the promotion and use of intellectual property as a means of stimulating innovation and creativity, the organization in recent years has directed effort toward matters relating to access to information in the public interest. Because the WIPO is responsible for international norm-setting on copyright, its decisions have an impact on the work of libraries and archives. The WIPO benefits from the participation of international and national library and archive organizations as accredited observers. This entry outlines the WIPO’s activity and efforts to address international legal and policy issues that affect libraries, archives, and the public at the WIPO within the framework of advocacy.
