WIPO Deputy Director General Lisa Jorgenson Opens WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies: Fifth Session

April 8, 2022

Frontier technologies have the power to assist us in making IP and the IP system easier to access, more efficient and more understandable and the Fifth Session of the WIPO Conversation is all about how we can harness that power for everyone, everywhere, WIPO Deputy Director General Lisa Jorgenson said in opening a meeting on IP and Frontier Technologies.

The fifth session of the WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies took place in a virtual format, with almost 1,000 registrants from more than 117 countries worldwide including government, private entities, academia and individuals who followed the debate online. The agenda focused on how frontier technologies, such as AI, big data analytics and blockchain can be used to address the growing challenges in IP administration and registration as well as the disruption these technologies may cause to the IP system.

“Frontier technologies are among the biggest drivers of the digital transformation and they also provide immense opportunities for economic growth,” said Ms. Jorgenson. Underlining the economic impact of frontier technologies, she said as a group, they already represent a $350-billion market, and one that by 2025 could grow to over $3.2 trillion and IP is becoming a key factor in driving this economic growth.

“The world of IP is also becoming more and more complex. In the face of so much complexity and ambiguity, we need to find ways to make these issues accessible, relatable and understandable and to stay connected, to assist each other and share information. And we need to find new ways to provide practical solutions and tools that have real impact on the ground,” Ms. Jorgenson said.

The WIPO Conversation sets out to do just that. To help each other understand. To connect. To learn from each other.

Day one explored how the IP office of the future might look and the role of frontier technologies in the transformation of IP services. It further addressed challenges and opportunities for users of the IP system, and how to close the technology gap to make IP work for everyone, everywhere.

Day two focused on current IP office strategies and private enterprise solutions using frontier technologies.

The WIPO Conversation is going forward with at least two sessions a year. The next, sixth session will take place on September 21-22, 2022. It will take a deep dive into AI inventions and protecting frontier technology innovations.

In order to give more space for discussion and information sharing, WIPO continues organizing webinars in between the sessions of the WIPO Conversation. IP Offices are invited to share their tools in IP administration or general issues relating to the framework of their development.

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Background

The WIPO Conversation is a forum to engage with and facilitate discussion about the impact on IP on frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence. WIPO began this series of conversations as a way of convening a diverse group of stakeholders to exchange information, build knowledge and support well-informed policy choices in an area that is rapidly reshaping our economies and societies.