WO Patents WO patents are granted by the World Intellectual Property Organization, also referred to as WIPO. The prefix WO, short for WIPO, means the patent will be administrated by the organization. WIPO is an agency operating under the United Nations and is responsible for administering several international treaties relating to patents and other intellectual property rights. Particularly, the Patent Cooperation Treaty is overseen by WIPO and provides procedural guidelines for filing patent applications in member countries. There are a total of 184 members of WIPO, including the U.S., China, and many European countries.