ABOUT IPO
IPO advocates for effective and affordable
IP ownership rights and offers countless
benefits to its members.
IPO’s commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to its support for minority and women-owned businesses, including law firms. One organization devoted to such firms is NAMWOLF, the National Association for Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms. NAMWOLF has an IP Practice Area Committee, which you can check out by clicking the link below.
Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), established in 1972, is an international trade association representing a “big tent” of diverse companies, law firms, service providers, and individuals in all industries and fields of technology that own, or are interested in, intellectual property rights. IPO membership includes over 125 companies and spans over 30 countries. IPO advocates for effective and affordable IP ownership rights and offers a wide array of services, including supporting member interests relating to legislative and international issues; analyzing current IP issues; providing information and educational services; supporting and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in IP and innovation; and disseminating information to the public on the importance of IP rights. IPO’s vision is the global acceleration of innovation, creativity, and investment necessary to improve lives.
Membership benefits include access to our vibrant network of corporate in-house IP counsel, free CLE on demand, and having a voice in our highly influential government affairs program. We have 30+ committees and resource groups working year-round on the most important intellectual property issues.
Information about IPO membership, benefits, and activities can be found by following the links above and to the right.
In 2022, IPO celebrated 50 years. Read more about the anniversary here.
Mission
IPO promotes high quality and enforceable intellectual property rights and predictable legal systems for all industries and technologies.
VISION
IPO’s vision is the global acceleration of innovation, creativity, and investment necessary to improve lives. The Board of Directors has adopted a strategic objective to foster diverse engagement in the innovation ecosystem and to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its work to complement IPO’s mission of promoting high quality and enforceable IP rights and predictable legal systems for all industries and technologies.
Membership
Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) values a diverse membership that is inclusive and empowering to all individuals, regardless of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or socioeconomic status. IPO believes that the vitality of the association and the IP profession is dependent on the contributions of a community that reflects the diverse perspectives of a global economy.
Strategic Priorities
Maximize impact and relevance in a changing IP landscape by focusing advocacy and education on issues of common interest such as artificial intelligence and international harmonization of IP laws
- Advocate in the US and around the world on developing IP issues in AI, e.g. inventorship and sufficiency of disclosure. Consider whether certain aspects of AI do not fit within existing IP framework and explore data usage IP issues related to AI.
- Educate IPO members, legislators, and patent offices
- Continue ongoing activities related to procedural patent law harmonization
- Explore opportunities to expand scope of activities to encompass AI issues related to trade secrets and/or to include other countries beyond IP5
Promote the value of IP
- Appoint board task force to do a benchmarking study on ongoing PR initiatives and historical IPO PR campaigns; propose scope, audience, messaging, and budget for campaign
- Coordinate with IPO Education Foundation
Foster diverse engagement on policy issues to improve the IP system and elevate IPO’s voice
- Implement new procedures for considering controversial issues where diverse industry perspectives exist and alignment of views may be challenging
- Strive to take positions on issues where diverse industry perspectives exist, based on thoughtfully and respectfully considering the reasoning behind differing views
- When consensus is not achieved on key issues, share the differing views and rationales with policy makers to educate and inform them
Ensure effective governance
- Appoint board task force to recommend revisions to existing board commitment form
- Develop core values for organization
- Implement board governance best practices and continually review communication mechanisms to ensure widespread, effective engagement by the board
- Align membership recruiting strategy to focus on common ground issues and provide additional opportunities to attract those members, e.g. target recruiting in Europe and Asia to support harmonization; develop committees and educational content for data/privacy professionals etc.
Carl B. Horton Distinguished Service Award Winners
2024 – Wendy Lawson
2023 – Mercedes Meyer
2022 – Henry Hadad
2021 – Elizabeth Ferrill
2020 – Sandra Nowak
2019- Kevin Rhodes
2018 – Steven Miller
2017 – Philip Johnson
2016 – Louis Foreman
2015 – Lawrence Welch
2014 – Carl Horton
2013 – Gary Hoffman
2012 – Edward Blocker
2011 – Paul Berghoff
2010 – John Williamson
2009 – Harry Gwinnell
2008 – Gary Griswold