The new WIPO Pulse 2025 report is more than a data set. It is a mirror held up to the global IP ecosystem – and it shows that years of coordinated IP awareness building are starting to pay off. WIPO surveyed 35,500 people in 74 countries and found rising awareness and trust in intellectual property rights across almost all regions and demographic groups.

Here you get access to the study report

For everyone working on IP awareness – international organizations, national IP offices and the growing community of IP Subject Matter Experts on IPBA Connect – this study is an external validation that education, communication and community-building matter.

WIPO Pulse 2025: A global proof point for IP awareness

The 2025 edition of WIPO Pulse significantly expands the reach of the first survey from 2023. With interviews across 74 countries, the study now covers around 80 percent of the global target population aged 18–65. The findings show clear trends:

  • People are more familiar with patents, trademarks, designs, copyright and geographical indications than two years ago.
  • Trust in IP systems is growing, and IP-protected products are increasingly associated with quality, innovation and fair income for creators and inventors.
  • At the same time, regional and demographic gaps remain, especially when it comes to young people and certain regions that still report lower awareness levels.

In other words: the global conversation about IP has become louder and more positive – but it is far from finished. This is exactly the space in which the IP Business Academy and the IPBA Connect platform operate.

The IP Business Academy within the IPBA Connect platform as a global hub for IP awareness

The IP Business Academy at CEIPI has worked at the intersection of IP education, innovation policy and business development for almost two decades. It positions itself as a global hub for IP management education, networking, IP awareness and business-development support for IP experts.

The Academy combines academic programs with co-developed content with the European Patent Office with a broad set of communication channels: online courses, case studies, live talks, the 📑IP Business Academy blog, the 🎯IP Management Pulse newsletter, the podcast 🎧IP management voice, the digital IP lexicon 🧭dIPlex, the 🔎IP Management Glossary , 📑IP Management Letters, the 🖥️IP Management Talks  within the IPBA Connect platform. These channels reach users of the IP system, corporate IP professionals, patent attorneys, start-ups, innovation agencies and policy makers – exactly the stakeholder groups WIPO identifies as crucial for turning positive perceptions of IP into real innovation outcomes.

A central element of this ecosystem is the community of IP Subject Matter Experts. They use IPBA Connect to share applied IP knowledge, show concrete use cases and engage in conversations with users of the IP system. The WIPO Pulse 2025 results confirm that this kind of practice-oriented communication meets a real need: people increasingly look for accessible, context-rich explanations of how IP works in their specific business environment. This also demonstrates the success of our cooperation with WIPO and CNIPA in Executive Training in IP Asset Management and Commercialization, as well as in Bulgaria on IP and Tech Transfer, and with WIPO/CEIPI/INPI on IP licensing.

New Work, I3PM and digital awareness building

One major theme in recent years has been “IP awareness under New Work conditions”. Together with partners such as I3PM Committee for Personal Growth and Soft Skill Development, the IPBA Connect platform has developed a series of webinars and articles that translate the realities of remote work, independent careers and digital networking into concrete steps for IP professionals.

These formats are not abstract theory. They are part of a broader movement in which IP professionals build their personal brand, explain complex IP topics in plain language and engage directly with innovators, founders and decision makers. WIPO Pulse 2025 shows that digital communication is now a key source of information about IP for many people worldwide – precisely the arena in which these programs operate.

In addition, white papers were published to support IP experts in using today’s digital opportunities for IP awareness building and business development, as well as to support them in change processes:

Working with institutions of national innovation systems

The WIPO report underlines that national innovation systems play a crucial role in translating IP awareness into economic outcomes. The IPBA Connect platform and the IP Business Academy collaborations with major institutions show how this can work in practice.

A good example is the High-growth Technology Business (HTB) community initiative of the European Patent Office. In the HTBC Summer Camp, the Academy provided input on “How to create IP awareness for decision makers on LinkedIn”, targeting SME leaders who shape innovation strategies but often lack time and resources for classical IP training. By framing LinkedIn as a channel for explaining IP strategy in business language, the program directly addresses the awareness gaps highlighted in WIPO Pulse.

Similar collaborations extend to national patent offices (INAPI in Chile, JPO in Japan, NIPMO in South Africa etc. here an overview), innovation agencies (like Enterprise Europe Network) and European institutions (like European Innovation Council, which are present as categories and partners across many IPBA Connect and IP Business Academy activities. This networked approach reflects the insight that no single actor can reach all relevant audiences; instead, coordinated IP awareness efforts must connect education, policy and practice.

Best practice with law firms: From visibility to client learning

The WIPO survey points out that consumers increasingly associate IP-protected products with quality and innovation – but that many still struggle to understand how IP actually works in practice.(WIPO) Law firms are critical intermediaries in closing this gap. On IPBA Connect, several best-practice cases show what this can look like.

  • At Ungria in Spain, an interview with Mr. Sarmento outlines how the firm uses digital content and LinkedIn to explain IP topics to clients and industry communities, framing IP as a strategic tool rather than a purely legal necessity.
  • Hoffmann Eitle in Germany used IPBA Connect to amplify its Euro Law Conference 2025, extending the reach of conference insights far beyond the physical event and turning presentations into repeatable learning assets.
  • BlueShift IP in USA We have addressed the issue of IP protection for AI solutions and contributed to raising global awareness and understanding of this important topic.
  • Weickmann & Weickmann partnered with the Academy for an expert exchange on “Strengthening digital visibility in IP”, showing how partners and associates can use structured content to reach start-ups, scale-ups and in-house teams with relevant IP stories.
  • Onsagars in Norway used IPBA connect to amplify its awareness building and business development campaign in Norway, Europa and China.

These examples translate the abstract trend of “rising trust in IP” into concrete communication practices: regular LinkedIn commentary, case-study articles, webinars and curated conversations with targeted audiences.

IP Subject Matter Experts as multipliers of IP awareness

Perhaps the clearest link between WIPO Pulse 2025 and IPBA Connect lies in the work of individual IP Subject Matter Experts. Their stories show how expert-level content, distributed through digital channels, can increase both awareness and qualified client conversations.

  • Andreas Sætre Hanssen (Norway) uses articles and interviews on the platform to connect strategic IP thinking with concrete technologies, from skis to woodworking tools. He explicitly highlights how publishing with the IP Business Academy helps him reach an international audience interested in smarter IP practices.
  • Sebastian Goebel (Germany) explains how he transformed his litigation and licensing expertise into systematic business development on IPBA Connect, using a structured content and client-journey approach.
  • Dr. Alihan Kaya (Turkey) shows how “Green IP” topics can anchor a compelling expert position and attract clients that care about sustainability-driven innovation.
  • Sascha Kamhuber (Germany) demonstrates how niche patent intelligence in the steel industry can become a scalable service when explained through targeted articles, webinars and LinkedIn activities.
  • Tomas Geerkens (Belgium/USA) turns highly specialized licensing-compliance expertise into measurable business development by educating the market about audit readiness and risk management.

In all these cases, awareness building and business development are two sides of the same coin. By educating specific communities – in-house counsels, founders, engineers, CFOs – these experts improve the overall understanding of IP while building sustainable practices for themselves.

From data to mandate: What WIPO Pulse means for the next decade

Taken together, WIPO Pulse 2025 and the many IPBA Connect initiatives tell a coherent story. On the one hand, the global data shows that awareness and trust in IP are rising, confirming that large-scale efforts by WIPO, IP offices and national innovation systems are making a difference. On the other hand, the practical examples from IP Business Academy and its IP Subject Matter Experts show how this awareness building happens in everyday professional life: through LinkedIn posts, webinars, interviews, case studies and structured client journeys.

The next step is not to declare victory, but to build on this momentum. WIPO Pulse reminds us that important gaps remain – between regions, age groups and education levels. IPBA Connect and its partners can help close these gaps by scaling what already works: targeted content, expert-led storytelling and cooperation with the institutions that shape national innovation systems.

If the past years were about proving that digital IP awareness building under New Work conditions is possible, WIPO Pulse 2025 is the external proof that it is also effective. The task now is to extend these models to more experts, more industries and more countries – so that the next edition of WIPO Pulse will not only confirm growing awareness but also show how well-informed IP users contribute to better innovation outcomes worldwide.