Remarks by Coke Morgan Stewart
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Opening Statement of the United States of America
at the 66th Assemblies of the Member States
of the World Intellectual Property Organization — WIPO
July 8-17, 2024
In-person delivery on Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Thank you, Chair.
The United States is pleased to see you presiding over the General Assembly.
This important body is charged with decisions that impact all innovators and creators who use the global IP systems.
WIPO has a clear and focused mandate – “to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world.”
This must guide all of our work and use of resources.
Thus, international filing and registration services administered by WIPO form the backbone of the organization and must continue to be improved and streamlined.
It is also important that WIPO filing and registration systems not only enable applicants to pursue protection across the globe but also do so in a cost-efficient and straightforward manner.
In particular, for the PCT system to remain an effective tool for patent applicants, the system cannot add requirements, such as disclosure of traditional knowledge and genetic resources, that do not relate to patentability of inventions.
Finally, all registration systems must be moving in a direction of solvency and financial self-sufficiency.
We cannot continue to burden PCT and Madrid filers with fees that fund other systems, such as the Lisbon system for registration of geographical indications, that are not solvent and are not moving towards financial sustainability.
As we plan our work for the next year, we must ensure that committees’ mandates and meeting expectations foster and promote the protection of IP throughout the world.
After all, intellectual property is a critical element of economic prosperity for all countries, developed and developing.
As President Trump stated in his 2025 World IP Day Proclamation, “[t]hrough the promotion and protection of IP, we are empowering musicians, writers, authors, scientist[s], and inventors.”
Supporting these innovators supports us all.
Thank you, Chair.