WIPO Magazine

Publisher:: World Intellectual Property Organization
Publication date:: 2009-02-13

ISBN:: 1020-7074

Issue Number

Latest documents

Tencent, video games, the metaverse and diversity: an insider’s view
Tencent is a global technology firm that operates the world’s leading video game development, publishing and operations platform. It is also a global leader in invention and technology investment with prominence in fintech, cloud services, digital communications (it has its own free messaging and calling app, WeChat, known as Weixin in China) and its own Netflix-like streaming platform, Tencent Video. Tencent’s Interactive Entertainment Group (IEG) is responsible for developing the interactive entertainment side of the company’s business, including games and esports
Fashion forward: pioneering African designer eyes luxury brands market
Today, Taibo Bacar’s eponymous fashion house is holding its own on international catwalks and in highbrow stores, belying its humble Mozambican origins. Taibo Bacar is one of Africa’s leading fashion houses, renowned for its imaginative combination of high and fast fashion goods. The brand’s statement pieces recount personal stories with a pop of color, intricate cuts and details, which have won numerous awards and propelled it to the international stage. A trailblazer in the industry, the pioneering fashion brand was the first African brand to showcase at the Milan Fashion Week in 2010
Brazilian agri-tech startup digitizes farm management with dividends for cattle farmers and sustainability
Why vaccine independence is so important for Africa
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw warp-speed development of vaccines in some parts of the world. But for Africa, the pandemic highlighted the urgent need to build capacity on the continent to develop and manufacture much-needed vaccines. This is something the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) has been advocating for over 10 years. In a wide-ranging interview with WIPO Magazine, AVMI Executive Director and co-founder Patrick Tippoo, who is also Head of Science and Innovation at the South African bio-pharmaceutical company, Biovac, explains why vaccine independence for Africa is so important
Green trademarks and the risk of greenwashing
The last decade has seen a rapid increase in demand from consumers for “environmentally friendly” products and services. Climate change and its impacts ─ record-setting tsunamis and hurricanes, out-of-control wildfires, floods and landslides, droughts and scorching temperatures ─ are driving demand for goods that are sustainably produced and can be used without harming the environment
Everyone can tackle water scarcity with Hydraloop
Hydraloop, a decentralized greywater recycling system, allows households to cut water consumption and wastewater emissions by up to 45 percent, respectively. At a time when soaring temperatures are wreaking havoc around the world, causing water scarcity and drought, the availability of this award-winning water treatment solution could not be more timely
Stogie T: hip hop, IP and all that jazz
In 2016, pioneering South African hip hop artist, Tumi Molekane, the lead vocalist of the now disbanded group, Tumi and the Volume, launched his solo career as Stogie T. The popular rap artist recently sat down with WIPO Magazine in a wide-ranging interview where he talks about his passion for hip hop music, his recent signing with Def Jam Africa and how important it is for young musicians to understand how to protect and manage their IP rights
Esports: an overview of a new(ish) frontier in digital entertainment
Pardon me: an e-…what? According to the definition in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, an esport is “a video game played as a competition for people to watch as entertainment”. Albeit with some approximation, this definition captures the essence of the phenomenon and helps us introduce this first very important point: any videogame (whether it’s a virtual simulation of a traditional sporting activity or not) can be an esport
Building sustainable futures with traditional knowledge in New Caledonia
For Subama Mapou, the vast resources of New Caledonia offer a wealth of inspiration for the development of new plant-based innovations that draw on the traditional knowledge of the islands’ Indigenous Peoples. As a young Kanak woman from the Unia tribe of the Djawari chiefdom, Mapou’s family introduced her to this knowledge at a young age. The family’s ancestors make up a long line of traditional practitioners
Securing Serbia’s cultural heritage: the case of “Kilim of Pirot”
Products that bear a geographical indication of origin owe their special characteristics to the locality in which they are produced. They are the fruit of the traditions crafted over centuries by people from a specific location who have transferred their knowledge and skills across generations