An exhibition showing the intellectual property (IP) behind Steve Jobs' innovations opened to the public at WIPO on 30 March 2012 and will run through to World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April 2012.
The exhibition - The Patents and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art and Technology that Changed the World features over 300 of the patents that bear Steve Jobs name along with many of Apple's trademarks. The exhibition is co-organised by WIPO and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The exhibit was created and designed by Invent Now, a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering invention and creativity through its many programs and which runs the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum on the USPTO campus in Alexandria, Virginia.
"A visionary innovator is measured by the extent of transformation that their innovation achieves in society and the economy," said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. "Steve Jobs certainly had vision - his ambition to make digital technology simple and accessible gave rise to a new paradigm for the delivery of entertainment."
Jobs held 317 utility and design patents in the United States. On display are the patent certificates that list him among the inventors involved in the conceptualization of many iconic Apple products, including computer cases, iOS-based devices, packaging, keyboards, mice and power adaptors, and even the glass staircases found in many Apple stores.
In addition to his U.S. patents, Jobs is named on some 28 international applications filed under WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system. Apple has filed some 1,500 applications under that system and also makes use of the WIPO Madrid (trademarks) and Hague (designs) systems.