The Budapest System provides a practical business solution when pursuing patents involving biological material in some 80 countries through the recognition of one international recognized deposit with an international depositary authority (IDA).

The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs provides a practical business solution for registering up to 100 designs in over 66 territories through filing one single international application.

The Lisbon System for the International Registration of Appellations of Origin offers a means of obtaining protection for an appellation of origin (AO) in the contracting parties to the Lisbon Agreement through a single registration. Registrations are published in the official Bulletin and can be searched through the Lisbon Express database.

The Madrid System is a one stop solution for registering and managing marks worldwide. File one application, in one language, and pay one set of fees to protect your mark in the territories of up to 98 members. Manage your portfolio of marks through one centralized system.

The Nice Classification (NCL), established by the Nice Agreement (1957), is an international classification of goods and services applied for the registration of marks. The 2016 version of the tenth edition of the NCL came into force on January 1, 2017.

The Paris Convention, adopted in 1883, applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, geographical indications and the repression of unfair competition. This international agreement was the first major step taken to help creators ensure that their intellectual works were protected in other countries.

WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation. WIPO is a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 189 member states.