Each year, the campaign by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) explores a topical subject to raise awareness of the relevance of intellectual property as a driver of innovation. Given that the world’s population is currently facing issues such as climate change, social inequality and economic instability, the focus on 26 April 2024 will be on implementing the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Intellectual property plays an indispensable role in this respect.

For this year’s World IP Day, the information pages on sustainable development topics on the IPI’s website have been expanded and restructured.
In a specially dedicated section, you can now find specific information on concepts, engagements and processes relating to sustainable development and IP. The IPI has set up an in-house sustainability working group to support the Federal Council’s strategic objective regarding sustainable development by proposing measures with an external impact.

Additionally, the IPI has been a partner of WIPO GREEN since 2019. Thanks to this partnership, Switzerland can play a part in shaping WIPO GREEN and make a further contribution to achieving the SDGs. The online platform connects providers and seekers of green technologies, which contributes to the diffusion of sustainable innovations.

In conjunction with other federal offices, the IPI supports the Swiss Cleantech Report, which is published on a regular basis. For the 2024 report, the IPI conducted an analysis of green patents for the third time. The trend analysis shows that the number of patent families active worldwide more than doubled between 2008 and 2022. 

On 28 August, the IPI will be hosting an innovation forum at the Swiss Green Economy Symposium for the second year running. The multi-day conference, which has been held since 2013, offers an extensive programme of business and sustainability topics. All information about the event and the IPI’s innovation forum will be published in mid-May 2024.

The IPI participates in the Observatory on Patents and Technology of the European Patent Office (EPO). The aim of the observatory is to create a safer, smarter and more sustainable world by making technology trends transparent for future generations and accessible to all. 

Experts from the IPI reviewed a study on the commercialisation of technologies in the context of the EU Green Deal, which the EPO prepared in collaboration with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The study is based on both patent data analyses and surveys of cleantech companies in Europe and the United States.

Just in time for World IP Day on 26 April 2024, parts of this study will be presented at a free online event entitled ‘Bringing cleantech innovation to market’. The full study is expected to be published at the end of May 2024.