Working Group on the Development of the Lisbon System (Appellations of Origin) (7th session)
2026-02-03 - 2026-02-05 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement
2026-02-09 09:00 - 2026-02-14 17:00 UTC | Geneva, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
The Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement is tasked with establishing an instrument for Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing as an annex to the Pandemic Agreement.

Extraordinary Session of the Coordination Committee to nominate candidate for appointment to the post of Director General of WIPO
2026-02-12 - 2026-02-13 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Working Group (19th session)
2026-02-16 - 2026-02-20 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

* Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Working Group (18th session)
2026-02-16 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Committee for Technical Cooperation (33rd session)
2026-02-16 - 2026-02-20 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

IPC Union - Committee of Experts (57th session)
2026-02-24 - 2026-02-26 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Just AI in Africa
2026-02-26 08:00 - 2026-02-28 17:00 UTC | University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
The rapid growth of AI technology around the world holds the potential to improve research and innovation, but also the risk of aggravating inequality in access to information and economic opportunities. A key problem is that most of the small number of critical “foundation” and “frontier” models upon which AI applications are built are created and controlled by an even smaller number of multinational commercial technology firms. These models are rarely transparent, often culturally and linguistically biased, and have immense market power. One response to the promise and challenges, especially in the Global South and the so-called “middle powers,” is the promotion of “Public AI” — referring to government led and/or publiAt the Centre on Knowledge Governance, in consultation with other key players, we are developing a somewhat broader conception of “Just AI” that blends the desires for public accountability in Public AI with human rights concerns, including the moral and material interests of creators, the stewardship of traditional knowledge by communities and the developmental priorities of the Global South. The purpose of this series of roundtable discussions followed by a drafting retreat in the Cradle of Humankind is to produce a “zero draft” statement of experts on principles of Just AI for Africa.

lntergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, IGC (52nd session)
2026-03-04 - 2026-03-13 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement
2026-03-23 09:00 - 2026-03-28 17:00 UTC | Geneva, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland

Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (49th session)
2026-03-30 - 2026-04-02 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Webinar on the Limitations and Exceptions Agenda at WIPO
2026-04-09 16:00 - 18:30 (Europe/Zurich) | https://dev.knowledgegov.org/event/webinar-preview-of-sccr-48/
The Centre on Knowledge Governance (CKG) is hosting a webinar to analyse all the documents before WIPO that could serve as a starting point for text-based work in accordance with the Work Program on Exceptions and Limitations (SCCR/43/8 Rev) adopted by the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) in 2023. See below for a list of the 3 documents to be analysed. This is an ONLINE event.

The US Documents: The United States’ proposed “Objectives and Principles for Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives” (SCCR/47/10) and “Objectives and Principles for Exceptions and Limitations for Educational, Teaching, and Research Institutions” (SCCR/47/9);
The African Group Proposal: The African Group’s October 7, 2025, ”Proposal on Limitations and Exceptions” (SCCR/47/5); and
The Chair’s Text: the Chair and Vice-Chair’s November 10, 2025, “Text Proposed in the Framework of Work Towards an Appropriate International Legal Instrument or Instruments on Limitations and Exceptions” (SCCR/47/8).

The core questions of the webinar will be:

How do the drafts display agreement on the subjects of a potential instrument?
What are the advantages of any of the document’s provisions and how might they be improved?
How might any of the provisions add to the history and operation of existing international copyright?

CKG will present recent research on copyright limitations and exceptions, followed by a roundtable of experts sharing views on select provisions.
Panelists will include:

Sean Flynn, CKG (Moderator), summary of recent research outputs by CKG
Jonathan Band, Counsel, CKG, comparison of the documents before the committee.
James Love, Knowledge Ecology International, the evolution of teaching and research exceptions in the Berne Convention;
Faith Majekolagbe, University of Alberta Faculty of Law, comments on the African Group Proposal
Christophe Geiger, Luiss University, Rome, preambular objectives and remuneration
Margaret Chon, Seattle University School of Law, visiting researcher, Centre on Knowledge Governance (TBC), research exceptions for access to science.
Luis Villaroel, Innovarte, Chile, proposals to guide application of the three-step test.
Teresa Nobre, Communia, comparing the African Group Proposal with EU Law.

References:

CKG, recent publications relevant to SCCR 48, https://knowledgegov.org/focus-area/wipo-negotiations/
The Berne Convention revisions for limitations and exceptions to copyright, 2012:1 KEI Research Note (August 2012. Revised June 18, 2017). https://www.keionline.org/copyright/berne-convention-exceptions-revisions
Faith O. Majekolagbe, Balancing the Global Copyright System in the Public Interest: An Analysis of the African Group’s Proposed Instrument on Limitations and Exceptions, Working Paper, 1 December 2025, https://www.southcentre.int/working-paper-1-december-2025/
Christophe Geiger, Implementing an International Instrument for Interpreting Copyright Limitations and Exceptions, International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law 40(6) (January 2009) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43234236_Implementing_an_International_Instrument_for_Interpreting_Copyright_Limitations_and_Exceptions
Intellectual Property And The Public Interest: The Wto Trips Agreement And The Copyright Three-Step Test, Communication From South Africa, https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/IP/C/W663.pdf&Open=True

Extraordinary Session of the WIPO General Assembly, Paris Union Assembly, and Berne Union Assembly to appoint the Director General
2026-04-21 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

IPC Union - IPC Revision Working Group (55th session)
2026-04-27 - 2026-05-01 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Committee of Experts of the Nice Union (36th session)
2026-04-27 - 2026-05-01

Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, CDIP (36th Session)
2026-05-04 - 2026-05-08

Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, SCCR (48th session)
2026-05-18 - 2026-05-22 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly
2026-05-18 08:30 - 2026-05-23 17:00 UTC | Geneva, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the annual decision-making meeting of the World Health Organization.

Maggie Chon, Public Lecture & cocktail (Hybrid)
2026-05-18 18:30 - 21:30 (Europe/Zurich) | Domaine Barton (Geneva Graduate Institute), Parc Mon Repos, Rue de Lausanne, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
Can we re-imagine global intellectual property (IP) frameworks to make cutting-edge scientific knowledge available and barrier-free to a majority of the world’s population.

How can generative artificial intelligence (genAI) for human language translation solve the huge disparity in access to scientific literature? While scientific talent and knowledge is distributed throughout humankind and all countries would benefit from multi-directional access to knowledge, language differences unnecessarily impede the flow of scientific exchange. For example, over 90 percent of the current scientific publications are in English but less than 25 percent of the world’s population is proficient in English.
Besides language barriers, legal barriers to scientific knowledge exchange unnecessarily perpetuate on-going inequities in the distribution of global research and development capacity because translation rights are frequently assigned to scientific publishers through copyright laws. How can these issues be addressed by changes to global legal frameworks? Can the problem be solved in a similar way to the how the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Marrakesh Treaty eventually mandated access to works for print-disabled individuals? What is the role of high-quality repositories of scientific abstracts?
Can we meet UN Sustainable Development Goals 9 (“Industry, innovation, and infrastructure”) and 17 (“Partnership for the goals”), which both concern technology?
Join Maggie Chon for an insightful evening at Villa Barton, on the lake in Parc Mon Repos.
Margaret Chon is the Faculty Director, Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Institute in the Donald and Lynda Horowitz Endowed Chair for the Pursuit of Justice at the SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW. Professor Chon is also a visiting scholar at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Advisory Committee on Enforcement (18th session)
2026-06-02 - 2026-06-04 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Program and Budget Committee (40th session)
2026-06-15 - 2026-06-19 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Create and Research with AI
2026-06-25 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Sao_Paulo) | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Can creators use AI in the creative process and still secure copyright for their work? Do researchers have access to the limitations and exceptions to copyright they need to produce new knowledge using AI ? How can the notion of JUST AI help us ensure that Intellectual Property laws serve creators, users and the broader public interest?

The Geneva Center on Knowledge Governance (CKG) and the Instituto Brasileiro de Direitos Autorais (IDBA) are sponsoring a series of meetings and events for members of the User Rights Network June 24-26, 2026, — the week prior to the ATRIP meetings in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The meetings will have a focus on the intersection of copyright and artificial intelligence, especially in the context of uses and production of AI models in developing countries. A rough draft of the agenda follows. We invite proposals to present papers or works in progress at and of the sessions, which will be revised based on the applications received.
Draft programme: June Arrangements.docx – Google Docs
Tell us what contribution you’d like to make at the meeting. Accepted presenters will be offered two nights hotel stay in Rio..

IVIR Course on International Copyright Law (Scholarship)
2026-06-29 09:00 - 2026-07-03 17:00 (Europe/Zurich) | The Institute for Information Law (IViR), Korte Spinhuissteeg 3, Amsterdam, 1012
The Institute for Information Law organizes an annual intensive post-graduate course on international copyright law and policy. The face of copyright law and policy changes continuously, mostly due to the constant evolution of the digital networked environment and the legislative initiatives at the international and European level. As a result, copyright professionals must keep abreast of the applicable rules and policy initiatives, including those deriving from the international treaties and the various European directives in the area.
The Centre on Knowledge Governance is offering 5 scholarships to attend the course. Priority will be given to policy makers and stakeholders from the Global South who are working directly on copyright reform initiatives.

At the conclusion of the course, participants will have gained valuable insight in the most crucial current issues of copyright law, examined from a comparative law perspective and in the light of recent international and regional agreements. Participants in the course will also have access to comprehensive course material, consisting of the most relevant international, European, and American legislative documents, case law, and other background materials. The lectures are given by internationally renowned scholars, including those of the Institute for Information Law, and practitioners who all share years of academic and practical experience in the field of international copyright law.

lntergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, IGC (53rd session)
2026-09-16 - 2026-09-25 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Executive Course IP and Artificial Intelligence
2026-09-29 - 2026-09-30 | Domaine Barton (Geneva Graduate Institute), Parc Mon Repos, Rue de Lausanne, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
This intensive two-day course provides a comprehensive, comparative analysis of the evolving legal and policy landscape at the intersection of Intellectual Property (IP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Participants will explore pressing legal challenges, including the copyright protection for AI training data, the patentability and copyright of AI-generated outputs, and the balance between proprietary interests and the public interest in research (Text and Data Mining and computational research) and the development of Public AI and Just AI. Find more information about the course on the Centre’s website here.
Enroll on the course on the website of the Geneva Graduate Institute here.
Use the link below to apply for a scholarship. Priority in the awarding of scholarships will be given to policy makers and stakeholders from the Global South who are working on AI and copyright reform in the public interest.

The course will feature in-depth comparative analysis of legal frameworks and policy proposals across the European Union (EU), United States (USA), India, Brazil, Singapore, Japan, and in international forums, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, World Trade Organization and other agencies.
The learning experience will culminate in a practical role-play exercise in which students will draft a model international legal instrument aimed at ensuring fair remuneration for creators while safeguarding the rights of researchers and public interest organizations developing AI infrastructure. This legal instrument will focus on a range of factors to be used in distinguishing research and public interest uses of AI from commercial competitive uses.

Copyright, the Right to Research and Just AI: User Rights Annual Meeting
2026-10-01 09:00 - 17:00 UTC | Domaine Barton (Geneva Graduate Institute), Parc Mon Repos, Rue de Lausanne, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
Join the annual meetings of the Global Network on Copyright User Rights. This year’s meeting focuses on Just AI.
We invite presentations of scholarship and the opportunity to join a breakout session to discuss any of the following.

Analysis of the L&E agenda at WIPO, including the African Group Proposal for an Instrument.
How copyright norms can promote “Public AI” policies, including public interest, transparent governance, public accountability, equitable access to core and essential components (e.g. application of open access, essential facility, and refusal to deal doctrines).
Protections of the moral and material interests of creators in AI development;
Protecting the stewardship of traditional and knowledge and cultural expressions by communities;
Prioritization of the developmental priorities of the Global South.

If you are a member of the User Rights Network and you would like to make a presentation at the meeting, please apply below:

For general participation or attendance please register below:

Working Group on the Legal Development of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (24th session)
2026-10-05 - 2026-10-09 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

Working Group on the Legal Development of the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs (15th session)
2026-10-26 - 2026-10-28

Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (38th session)
2026-11-02 - 2026-11-06 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland

IPC Union - IPC Revision Working Group (56th session)
2026-11-09 - 2026-11-13 | WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland
