IP/C/W/685  
 
1 October  2021 
(21-7356) Page: 1/4 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  
WOMEN AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, JAPAN, SWITZERLAND, 
THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU, 
THE UNITED  KINGDOM, AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.  Intellectual property (IP) is an important factor in the success and growth of a business, 
particularly of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).  IP protection helps businesses find 
partners, secure funding, and commercialize inventions. F inding investors and forming partnerships 
often depends on having IP rights to a technology or product, especially for technology -oriented 
start-ups.1 Many lenders and investors view patent ownership or having a patent application pending 
as an important factor in funding decisions: patent holders are more likely to receive financing from 
venture capitalists and typically receive funding more quickly than entrepreneurs who do not hold 
patents.2 Furthermore, patents have also been linked to greater market value among established 
businesses.3 Research shows that women engage in the IP system less than men.4 Therefore, higher 
involvement of women -owned businesses in IP, i.e., a higher rate of obtaining patents and other IP 
protection among women -owned busin esses, could help women both establish their businesses and 
maximize revenue and success. In addition, more ideas and entrepreneurship opportunities by 
women provide society with the benefit of diverse contributions from a wider array of perspectives 
and u ntapped talent. Enabling women to play an equal role in the economy is essential to sustained 
economic growth and achieving gender equality, and will help lift millions out of poverty.    
2.  Women 's participation in the IP system varies according to the type o f IP. For example, a study 
in the US found that of the different types of IP, trademarks, and copyrights are the most common 
among both women - and men -owned businesses, with only minimal gender differences in copyright 
holdings (4.3 % of women employers and  4.5% of men -owned businesses held a copyright).5 In 
terms of patents, however, men -owned businesses are twice as likely as women -owned businesses 
to have either a granted patent (1.5 % compared with 0.7 %) or a pending patent application (0.9  % 
compared wi th 0.4 %).6  
3.  Various studies have looked at women 's participation in patenting and have attempted to account 
for the gender disparity. Educational and occupational choices are two important influences.7 
Historically, science and engineering fields produce  the most patentable inventions, so when fewer 
women pursue careers in science and engineering fields, they will make up a smaller share of patent 
 
1 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2018). CDIP/21/12 REV. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_21/cdip_21_12_rev.pdf  
2 Institute for Women 's Policy Research. (2018). Innovation and Intellectual Property Among Women 
Entrepreneurs . https://iwpr.org/wp -content/uploads/2020/10/C472_R eport-Innovation -and-Entrepreneurship -
9.6.18 -clean.pdf.  
3 Id.  
4 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2018). CDIP/21/12 REV. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_21/cdip_21_12 _rev.pdf  
5 Institute for Women 's Policy Research. (2018). Innovation and Intellectual Property Among Women 
Entrepreneurs . https://iwpr.org/wp -content/uploads/2020/10/C472_Report -Innovation -and-Entrepreneurship -
9.6.18 -clean.pdf.  
6 Id. 
7 US Patent and Tradem ark Office (USPTO) Office of the Chief Economist. (2019). Progress and 
Potential, A profile of women inventors on U.S. Patents.  
https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Progress -and-Potential.pdf  IP/C/W/685  
 
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  inventors.8 However, at least one study suggested there are other reasons for the lower rate of 
patenting by women than there simply being fewer women in science and engineering.9  
4.  There has been some progress in the rate of women 's participation in patenting. Between 1998 
and 2017, the proportion of female inventors worldwide almost doubled from 6.8% to 12.7%.10 
Further, the proportion of patent applications that name a woman amongst their inventors rose from 
12% to 21% over the same period.11 A stud y by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 
analysing patent applications filed using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system found that the 
country with the fastest improvement in gender participation was Mexico, followed by Spain, Poland 
and Switzerland.12 Mexico 's share of international patent applications with women inventors 
increased from 7.8% in 1995 -99 to 25.8% in 2011 -15.13 Spain, Poland, and Switzerland saw a 
similar increase in the share of international patent applications with w omen inventors.14 Another 
study found that the highest levels of female patenting rates have been in biotechnology, 
pharmaceuticals and organic chemistry, with women contributing to the inventions of approximately 
half of the patent applications made in th ese fields between 1998 -2017.15 In addition, one study has 
shown that women are more likely to patent in academic institutions than in corporate or government 
environments.16  
5.  While the noted progress is encouraging, the continued gender disparity in paten ting suggests 
that more can be done to facilitate inventorship and patenting by women.  
2  INTERNATIONAL APPROACHES  
6.  A 2013 report prepared by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 
discusses the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs .17 It aims to start a dialogue with 
policymakers about how to support increased innovation in women -owned firms in both developing 
and developed economies, and generate gender -aware policies and concrete improvements in 
program mes targeting women 's empowe rment.18 
7.  During the 2015 TRIPS Council discussion of women and innovation,19 the World Bank noted 
work being done to support women innovators, such as the Caribbean Women Innovators Network, 
and studies on this issue, such as the World Bank 's  "Gender Equa lity and Development  " report and 
the  "Women, Business and the Law " report20.  
8.  In November 2018, the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) of WIPO 
adopted a decision on women and IP acknowledging the importance of incorporating a gende r 
 
8 Id. 
9 Institute for Women 's Policy Research. (2018). Innovation and Intellectual Property Among Women 
Entrepreneurs . https://iwpr.org/wp -content/uploads/2020/10/C472_Report -Innovation -and-Entrepreneurship -
9.6.18 -clean.pdf.  
10 United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office. (2019) Gende r profiles in worldwide patenting, An 
analysis of female inventorship.  
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/846363/G
ender -profiles -in-worldwide -patenting -2019.pdf  
11 Id. 
12 Martinez, G.L., Raffo, J.,  Saito, K.; (2016). Economic Research Paper No. 33, Identifying the Gender 
of PCT Inventors . World Intellectual Property Office. 
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_econstat_wp_33.pdf  
13 Id. 
14 Id.  
15 United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office. ( 2019) Gender profiles in  
worldwide patenting, An analysis of female inventorship.  
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/846363/G
ender -profiles -in-worldwide -patenting -2019.pdf  
16 Id.  
17 United Nation s Conference on Trade and Development. (2013).  A Survey on Women 's 
Entrepreneurship and Innovation.   https://unctad.org/webflyer/survey -womens -entrepreneurship -and-
innovation -2013 
18 Id. 
19 WTO TRIPS Council, Minutes of Meeting, 24 -25 February 2015, IP/C/M/78Add.1  
20 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. (2021). Women, Business, 
and the Law 2021 . https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/35094/9781464816529.pdf   IP/C/W/685  
 
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  perspective into IP policies.21 As a result, WIPO held a series of sessions dedicated to women 's 
participation in the IP system.22 The first session tackled some of the barriers women face when 
entering the invention and innovation space, such as lack of  access to resources, including financial 
and knowledge resources; limited exposure to role models due to under -representation of women 
in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, as well as other IP -generating fields; 
lack of understandin g of the value of IP rights; and discrimination, bias, sexism, and socio -cultural 
norms and expectations, among other factors.23  
9.  The second session looked at initiatives that bring together different stakeholders - including 
governments, private sector, u niversities, and civil society organizations - each with different 
expertise and reference groups, to design and implement solutions to bridge the gender gap in IP.24 
The third session of this series will look at good practices in IP service delivery, desi gn, and analysis, 
and WIPO is inviting offices, teams, and practitioners to share examples of good practices.25  
10.  CDIP has been particularly active on the issue of closing the gender gap in IP. Among other 
work, it has issued a proposal in July 2021 for con tinued consideration of the issue,26 a document 
containing a Summary of the Study on  "Policy Approaches to Close the Intellectual Property Gender 
Gap – Practices to Support Access to the Intellectual Property System for Female Inventors, Creators 
and Entre preneurs "27, and a  "Report on Women and IP: Compilation and Sharing of Data ".28  
3  NATIONAL APPROACHES  
11.  The patent system promotes innovation and encourages investment, economic growth, 
knowledge sharing, and the efficient use of resources. It rewards inventors for the time, effort, and 
ingenuity invested in creating new products and processes, and society benefits from the disclosure 
of the information in patents. Further, previous literature finds that patents, and potentially other 
IP, can be importa nt factors in investors ' decisions. IP can lead to greater start -up capital for a 
business, which can help set a business on the right path for greater success overall.  
12.  The co -sponsors would be interested in an exchange on Members ' experiences regarding 
approaches to promote participation by women entrepreneurs in the IP ecosystem, such as29,30:  
a. Providing customized workshops, seminars, or awards for women entrepreneurs to raise 
awareness of the benefits that the IP system may hold for them;  
b. Providing su pport in the form of assisting applicants with patent searches and facilitating 
free or lower -cost legal assistance;  
c. Providing loans or other funding from both private and public sector targeted towards 
women 's innovation;  
d. Establishing peer exchanges, ment oring, and other training groups focused on IP for 
women entrepreneurs;  
e. Preparing reader -friendly IP material, including patent and trademark basics, examination 
overviews, information on patent searching and resources on legal assistance that could 
 
21 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2018). CDIP/22/16 REV2. 
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_22/cdip_22_16_rev_2.pdf  
22 https://www.wipo.int/women -and-ip/en/news/2021/new s_0008.html  
23 https://www.wipo.int/women -and-ip/en/news/2021/news_0005.html  
24Id.  
25 https://www.wipo.int/women -and-ip/en/news/2021/news_0008.html  
26 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2021). CDIP/26/10 REV. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_26/cdip_26_10_rev.pdf  
27 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Commi ttee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2021). CDIP/26/INF/3. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_26/cdip_26_inf_3.pdf  
28 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2 021). CDIP/26/7. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_26/cdip_26_7.pdf  
29 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2013).  A Survey on Women 's 
Entrepreneurship and Innovation.   https://unctad.org/webflyer/survey -womens -entrepreneurship -and-
innovation -2013 
30 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property 
(CDIP). (2021). CDIP/26/INF/3. https://w ww.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_26/cdip_26_inf_3.pdf  IP/C/W/685  
 
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  be use d by all inventors and entrepreneurs, and raising awareness about the availability 
of such resources;  
f. Promoting initiatives that encourage women to participate in STEM education, and 
promoting participation and retention of women in STEM career fields;  and 
g. Creating targeted program mes for the training of women for IP law and administration 
careers.  
4  CONCLUSION  
13.  Women entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators are a growing segment of the population, and 
their active participation is key to achieving gender equ ality. Encouraging their participation in the 
IP system can open doors to financing, growth of a business, and further opportunities, and also 
benefits society in knowledge sharing and fostering innovation. More can be done to support and 
empower women in participating in the IP ecosystem.  
5  GUIDING QUESTIONS  
1. Does your country have specific program mes to assist or promote women 's participation in the IP 
system?  
2. What measures, if any, have proven useful for the support of women entrepreneurs in 
particip ating in the IP system? Are there measures you have tried which have not been useful?  
3. How can the awareness of women entrepreneurs be raised regarding the benefits of IP for their 
business activity?  
4. According to the experience of Members, what are t he main challenges and specific barriers for 
women entrepreneurs in your country?  
5. According to the experience of Members, are there specific sectors where you have found women 
entrepreneurs are particularly active and could benefit from participating i n the IP system?  
 
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