Delegation of the Institute participated in the work of the 68th WIPO Assembly
Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina Josip Merdžo and Deputy Director Zdravko Kašović participated in the 68th session of the Assembly of Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which was held at the headquarters of the organization in Geneva from 7 to 15 July 2026.
This key event brought together more than 1,300 delegates from 194 Member States to discuss the future of the global intellectual property system and its role in fostering economic, social and cultural development.
The delegation of the Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH held several working meetings with representatives of WIPO departments, and special consideration was given to data security as part of the implementation of the IPAS 4 system, which the Institute is interested in, with the aim of adopting the most modern digital tools in the field of intellectual property.
At the session, the report of WIPO Director General Darren Tang was presented, important policies for global innovation infrastructure were adopted, and the prestigious WIPO Global Awards for 2026 were awarded.
During the assembly, the focus was on balancing between the protection of rights and the needs of developing countries for technology transfer, and a new interactive tool Innovation Capabilities Navigator was presented, which helps policymakers analyze the innovation strengths of individual economies.
One of the most anticipated events of the Assembly was the WIPO Global Awards ceremony, held on July 10, 2026. This year, a record more than 1,300 applications from 126 countries were received for the competition.
An international jury selected 11 winners (startups and SMEs) who have demonstrated exceptional skill in using intellectual property to commercialize solutions that change the world – from lung tissue regeneration to smart agricultural sensors. This year's novelty was also a special category for sports technology.
The WIPO General Assembly is the supreme governing and decision-making body that brings together member states, and its key role is to guide the strategic development of the global intellectual property system.
