High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world." WIPO currently has 184 member states, administers 24 international treaties, and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The current Director-General of WIPO is Francis Gurry, who took office on October 1, 2008. Almost all UN Members as well as the Holy See are Members of WIPO (non-members are the states of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, as well as the entities of Palestinian Authority, Sahrawi Republic, and Taiwan).