World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Daren Tang called for attendees of the International Trademark Association’s 148th Annual Meeting in London to look beyond themselves when it comes to the importance of intellectual property.

“Is IP just for us, tens of thousands of INTA attendees and IP insiders? Or can we imagine a world where IP is also relevant and helpful to people out there who need protection for their innovations, their ideas, their brands?” Tang asked the audience at the meeting’s opening ceremonies. “Do we see IP as only a set of rights and regulations, or do we see it as a catalyst for jobs, investments, growth and prosperity, and a way for us to collaborate and cooperate amongst our 94 member states?”

Tang noted that many in the audience know WIPO primarily as users of its services, including the PCT, Madrid and Hague systems; its domain name dispute resolution system and others.

But, he said, as the newly reappointed director general, he wanted to talk about IP more broadly, to discuss what IP means to the world fundamentally

“Long before there were patent offices or trademark producers, human beings were already inventing, innovating, designing and creating. Just think about stone tools, arrows, cave paintings, bones, sculptures and shell necklaces,” Tang said. “Our curiosity, inventiveness and creativity allow us to fundamentally reshape our world, eventually leading to agriculture, cities and civilization. We are a species of innovators and creators. [It’s] something baked into our DNA and part of us since time immemorial.”

Tang said that the intangible nature of IP helps drive IP lawyers and other trademark professionals.

“Unlike tangible and fixed property, IP is an intangible asset that allows for the potentially limitless scaling up and sharing of value,” he said. “Just think about how a brand can be franchised across countries, like technology can be licensed to cover the world, or how content can be streamed to millions at the same time.”

“IP is unique,” he said. “IP’s unique qualities make this possible. Because of this, we must avoid working that IP into a zero sum lens and recognize that collaboration and cooperation is fundamental to the IP world, and this is why WIPO believes that we can be a place where our 194 member states live together, even in the world of increasing dual political tension and division.”

Tang said that WIPO data already shows a convergence in how the world is embracing IP, and how IP is moving from the periphery to the centre. “Investments in intangible assets grew close to four times faster than those in investments in tangible assets between 2008 and 2024, reaching almost US$5 trillion. This is not just for developed countries, but increasingly for developing countries. For example, India is leading the world at nearly 7 percent annual growth in intangible investment, with Brazil close behind.”

More broadly, he said, trade and IP crossed US$1.2 trillion in 2024 for the first time ever, more than doubling since 2010. The United States, China and Japan lead the pack in this regard, but that India, Brazil and Thailand are also among the world’s biggest IP traders.

“All over the world, IP is moving from the periphery to the centre and, in doing so, giving opportunities for IP to be used as a way to scale, grow and win together. This remarkable shift requires robust IP infrastructure, modern tools and reliable services that can keep pace. It also demands that IP institutions, including WIPO, evolve to support IP professionals as you navigate an increasingly complex global landscape.

Tang explained how the Madrid system was helping brand owners, including some of the world’s largest brands. Tang said among the improvements to Madrid was that its customer service function is being transformed from being a “helpline” for experienced users into a proper account management system.

“Allow me to share a story from brand Procter and Gamble. One of the world's most sophisticated brand owners was not using the Madrid system at the levels we expected, not from reluctance, but because the touch points between WIPO and P&G were sporadic, and so we changed that. Our teams visited them directly. We reviewed their portfolio together. We understood their filing patterns, their priority markets, their operational challenges. We introduced demonstrated what real time portfolio visibility could mean at their scale, [and as a result,] P&G filings through the Madrid system grew by 233 percent in 2025. Now we are applying this model with many major users across the world, and in direct partnership with INTA.”

By Gregory Glass in London