World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on April 26. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to "raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life" and "to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of economies and societies across the globe". April 26 was chosen as the date for World Intellectual Property Day because it coincides with the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force in 1970. World Intellectual Property Day is WIPO’s largest intellectual property (IP) public outreach campaign. History In a statement to the 33rd Session of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO in September 1988, the Director General of the National Algerian Institute for Industrial Property (INAPI) “suggested that an International Intellectual Property Day be instituted." In a subsequent letter to the WIPO Director General dated April 7 1999, Mr. Amor Bouhnik, Director General of INAPI noted that the aim of establishing such a day "would be to set up a framework for broader mobilization and awareness, to open up access to the promotional aspect of innovation and to recognize the achievements of promoters of intellectual property throughout the world." On August 9, 1999, in a letter from Jiang Ying, Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese delegation proposed "that WIPO adopt the commemoration of its 30th anniversary of founding (26 April) as the “World Intellectual Property Day," as an annual event. The Commissioner noted that the aim of doing so was “to further promote the awareness of intellectual property protection, expand the influence of intellectual property protection across the world, urge countries to publicize and popularize intellectual property protection laws and regulations, enhance the public legal awareness of intellectual property rights, encourage invention-innovation activities in various countries and strengthen international exchange in the intellectual property field." In October 1999, at its 26th session, the General Assembly of WIPO approved the idea of declaring a particular day as a World Intellectual Property Day. Engagement by WIPO’s member states in World Intellectual Property Day has risen since its inception in 2000. In its first year, member states from 59 countries reported official World Intellectual Property Day events. Five years later, in 2005, 110 countries reported official World Intellectual Property Day events, and in