The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) services, policy, information and cooperation. We are a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 193 member states.

Our mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international IP system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all. Our mandate, governing bodies and procedures are set out in the WIPO Convention, which established WIPO in 1967.

WIPO’s member states determine the direction, budget and activities of the Organization through the decision-making bodies. We currently have 193 member states.

To become a member, a state must deposit an instrument of ratification or accession with the Director General. The WIPO Convention provides that membership is open to any state that is:

• a member of the Paris Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, or member of the Berne Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; or
• a member of the United Nations, or of any of the United Nations' Specialized Agencies, or of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or that is a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice; or
• invited by the WIPO General Assembly to become a member state of the Organization.

Uganda signed the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Patent Law Treaty in 2000 but has yet to ratify it.