World Intellectual Property Day

 Stories on how IP stimulates the business of sports. The Phryges – Paris 2024 Mascots Star as Olympic Merchandise . Paris 2024 is here. But what remains after the Games? The Paris 2024 mascots will be more than just souvenirs. Beyond the medals and accolades, it’s the merchandise that endures – and the Olympic mascots stand out. Innovative prostheses positively change the Paralympics Some 4,400 athletes with disabilities competed for gold during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. IP protected sports prostheses were one of the key devices they used to achieve their goals. Paralympian Rory Cooper drives innovation for people with disabilities Dr. Cooper – Paralympian, serial inventor, army veteran, engineer, marathon racer – discusses his ground-breaking work and the importance of IP in bringing it to the market. Meet the designer of the Olympic torch for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games . An icon of the Olympic Games, the Olympic torch symbolizes hope and peace. The Olympic torch relay, ...

The theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2026 is “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate”. Sports aren’t just about the game — they reach into fashion, entertainment, media, health, gaming and consumer goods. IP rights enable cross-industry connections with sport, sparking creativity, technological advancement and economic growth. Even when we’re not watching a game in the stadium or on the court cheering, the impact of sports and IP is part of our daily lives. World Intellectual Property Day 2026 celebrates how creativity and innovation, backed by IP rights, keep the world of sports thriving, dynamic and accessible for everyone, everywhere. Join the #WorldIPDay celebrations on April 26th , and together let’s honor the contributions of the creators, inventors and entrepreneurs working behind the scenes to push the boundaries of athletic performance, improve audience experience and bring sports events to every home.

  We all love watching sports. The speed, the power, the drama, the extraordinary moments. But behind every record that's broken and every breathtaking play, there's something important that most fans never see. Innovation. Creativity. Intellectual property. Lighter shoes. Stronger rackets. Safer helmets. Patents protect these innovations, encouraging research and investments in sports-related technology. And then there's the identity of sports. Team logos, athletes' names and images. Trademarks help build the brands that power global sports marketing and that fans rally around. Design rights protect the style of sports. From swimsuits to gym wear to tennis outfits. And when the action reaches our screens through broadcast and social media, copyright protects the content that connects billions of fans worldwide. And all of these extend to esports as well, a huge and growing industry. That is why this year, World IP Day celebrates IP and sports. Because sports is more th...

From football to tennis to ice skating, in every sporting field, inventors and creators are working behind the scenes to push the boundaries of athletic performance, improve audience experience and bring sports events to every home.  IP rights – and the legal protection they give – are the basis for key business transactions that secure the economic value of sports and push the industry forward. Thanks to steady industry growth, sporting organizations can finance high-profile sports events and promote sports development worldwide. The sports industry also contributes to the world economy, creating jobs and developing public infrastructure. Learn more

What kind of IP-related disputes are common in the sports area, and how to resolve them. Learn more  About IP and Dispute Resolution in Sports .

This beautiful song is Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Lady. It's a song that I first listened to when I was a teenager, and it made me fall in love with jazz. And that's really the beauty of music. It accompanies you in your life, you know, in moments of joy and moments of sadness. And when we decided to choose the theme of World IP Day this year, we wanted to do something that everyone could relate to. So we chose IP and music. And whether you are a musician or whether you love listening to music, whether you're an innovator or creator, IP is so important to your journey to helping you to bring your ideas, your creative expressions, and your art to the world. And so we want to make sure that this year on World IP Day, on the 26th April, we take a moment to celebrate music and creativity and innovation, to celebrate IP’s role in that, and to work together, right, in very concrete ways to help all of you, and all of these creators and musicians and artists and innovator...

The observance of the World Intellectual Property Day on April 26th offers a unique opportunity to join with others around the globe to consider how intellectual property (IP) helps the global arts scene to flourish and enables the technological innovation that drives human progress. The campaign is also an opportunity to highlight the role that IP rights , such as, patents , trademarks , industrial designs , copyright , play in encouraging innovation and creativity.