Product and intended use
Define the configuration, people, information and tasks being assessed.
Feature and release covered
Public claim only
WIPO's 'Artificial Intelligence Tools and Applications at WIPO' page lists 'Image Similarity Search in the Global Brand Database' among WIPO's AI services and links it to branddb.wipo.int/en/similarlogo (read 2026-09-27). The Global Brand Database page lists image similarity as one of the ways to search the collections, alongside keywords, names, numbers and goods and services. No version number, release date, release notes or roadmap for this feature appears on the pages read; the same page lists image similarity for the Global Design Database as still under development.
Ask: Which release of the image similarity search is currently live in the Global Brand Database, and does WIPO publish release notes or a change log for it?
What the feature does, as published
Public claim only
The AI tools page states: 'The Global Brand Database, maintained by WIPO, offers an image similarity search feature powered by AI. This tool allows users to upload images or logos and find similar or identical trademarks in the database' (read 2026-09-27). The FAQ describes the mechanics: in 'Find by brand logo' in the top menu the user uploads an image or drags and drops it, then selects a strategy and clicks search, with jpg, png and webp accepted. Neither page names a model, a matching threshold, or what each selectable strategy does.
Ask: What does each selectable search strategy do, and is any matching threshold, similarity score or result ordering method documented for the image search?
Use WIPO states the feature is for
Public claim only
The AI tools page states the service 'assists trademark professionals and brand owners in identifying potential trademark infringements and conducting comprehensive trademark clearance searches' (read 2026-09-27). The word 'comprehensive' there is WIPO's description of the use, not a measured property; nothing on the pages read sets out a limitation on professional use. Separately, the FAQ states that the International Bureau of WIPO 'is not mandated to conduct searches for third parties'.
Ask: Does WIPO publish any limitation or disclaimer on using the image similarity search as a step in professional clearance advice, beyond clause 4.4 of the Terms of Use?
Deployment and where the analysis runs
Public claim only
A hosted web service used in a browser at branddb.wipo.int, with no on-premises, private-cloud or self-hosted option described on the pages read (2026-09-27). On location, the only statement found is in the FAQ, that once the analysis of an uploaded image is complete 'all record of it is removed from our servers'. No page read states which country those servers are in, whether the matching runs on WIPO infrastructure or a third party's service, or whether an Australian region exists.
Ask: Where does the image matching run, on WIPO's own infrastructure or a provider's, and in which countries are the servers that process an uploaded image?
Collections searched and how current they are
Public claim only
The Global Brand Database page lists the collections: Madrid System international trade marks, Lisbon System appellations of origin and geographical indications, Article 6ter emblems, World Health Organization International Nonproprietary Names, and trade marks from participating national and regional offices, with a per-collection coverage list published at branddb.wipo.int/en/coverage (link published on the page; not opened). The FAQ states the Madrid international collection is updated daily, national collections depend on how often offices communicate updates, WIPO retrieves EUIPO TMView updates daily, and records are not updated manually. The FAQ adds: 'A search through your national Intellectual Property Offices' databases is also recommended.'
Ask: Which Australian collections are included, how current is the IP Australia data in the database, and what is the typical lag between an Australian filing and its appearance?
Vendor content directing how AI describes the product
Not confirmed
Checked deliberately on 2026-09-27 across the WIPO AI tools page, the Global Brand Database page, the Global Brand Database Terms of Use, the WIPO website Terms of Use, the WIPO Data Privacy Notice and the Global Brand Database FAQ. None of those pages carries a section addressed to AI models, assistants, crawlers or 'LLMs' telling them how to describe the service, and no /llms.txt, /ai-info or equivalent path appeared in the saved WIPO URL list for this product.
Ask: Does WIPO publish any page or file addressed to AI systems about how its databases and AI services should be described or accessed?
Data, controls and requirements
Compare the actual configuration with firm, client and jurisdiction requirements, supported by evidence.
Client authority and professional confidentiality
Not confirmed
Using the feature means uploading an image, which for a firm may be a client's unregistered or unpublished device mark, to a database operated by an intergovernmental organisation. The FAQ states uploads are not visible to others: 'No. Everything you do in the Global Brand Database is confidential.' The Terms of Use contain no clause on professional confidentiality or legal professional privilege; clause 9 incorporates the WIPO Data Privacy Notice, which covers personal data rather than client material. Nothing read addresses a firm's authority to upload client marks.
Ask: What authority should we obtain from a client before uploading an unregistered or unpublished mark, and will WIPO accept any confidentiality obligation for submitted images beyond the FAQ statement?
Model and provider behind the image matching
Not confirmed
WIPO states the feature is 'powered by AI' on its AI tools page (read 2026-09-27) and names no model, architecture, training data or third-party provider. The Terms of Use, the WIPO Data Privacy Notice and the FAQ are silent on the model. No model card or technical note for the feature was found on the pages read.
Ask: Which model performs the image comparison, was it built by WIPO or licensed from a third party, and is any external service called when a user submits an image?
Subprocessors and service providers
Not confirmed
Clause 9.1 of the WIPO Data Privacy Notice (last updated 16 October 2023) states WIPO 'may share Personal Data with third party service providers for the purpose of providing WIPO services and products', granted access only to what is reasonably necessary, and clause 10.2 states WIPO will require sufficient guarantees where data is transferred to a third party. No subprocessor list is published and no provider is named for the Global Brand Database or the image search. The only third party named anywhere on the pages read is EUIPO, as a source of TMView data rather than a processor of uploads.
Ask: Is there a list of the service providers involved in delivering the image similarity search, and does any of them receive or process the images users upload?
Training or tuning on uploaded images
Not confirmed
The FAQ answers storage only: 'WIPO does not, in any way, store a copy of the image you submit. Once the analysis of the image is complete, all record of it is removed from our servers, and we retain no record of the image you search for' (read 2026-09-27). Neither that answer, nor the Terms of Use (November 2022), nor the WIPO Data Privacy Notice states whether uploaded images, or features or embeddings derived from them, are used to train, fine-tune or evaluate the matching model. Nothing on the pages read permits or excludes that use, so it is recorded as unverified rather than read across from the storage statement.
Ask: Are uploaded images, or any vectors or features derived from them, used to train, fine-tune or evaluate the image similarity model, and is that answer stated in a document that binds WIPO?
Feedback, analytics and quality monitoring
Not confirmed
No feedback mechanism for the image search is described on the pages read (2026-09-27). The WIPO Data Privacy Notice states at clause 5.1 that WIPO may use web analytics tools collecting the WIPO account username for logged-in users, IP address, pages visited and the time, duration and date of the visit, at clause 5.2 that this information is used in aggregated and anonymous form for statistical purposes, and at clauses 6.2 and 6.3 that data is processed to improve services and that WIPO may send survey requests and promotional email, which a data subject may opt out of. None of that addresses what happens to an image or query submitted with a quality report.
Ask: If we report an incorrect match, what happens to the image, the query and the result set we submit with that report, and are they retained for model improvement?
Retention of uploaded images, searches and logs
Public claim only
The FAQ states WIPO does not store a copy of a submitted image and that, once analysis is complete, all record of it is removed from WIPO's servers and no record of the searched image is retained (read 2026-09-27). Clause 8 of the WIPO Data Privacy Notice adds that personal data is retained only for the time necessary for the purpose it was collected for, then removed and securely destroyed or anonymised. The image statement sits in an FAQ, not in the Terms of Use, which contain no retention clause; and the FAQ states account holders' saved searches and record sets persist and are updated automatically, with no retention period published for them or for search logs and IP addresses.
Ask: Will WIPO confirm the no-retention statement for uploaded images in a document that binds it, and what retention applies to search logs, IP addresses and account-linked saved searches and record sets?
Deletion and data subject requests
Public claim only
Clause 11.2 of the WIPO Data Privacy Notice lets a data subject request access, object to processing, or request correction or deletion of personal data, by written request in a WIPO working language with enough information to support the claim, and clause 11.3 lists grounds on which WIPO may reject a request in whole or in part, including that it is manifestly abusive, that compliance is impossible, inappropriate or would involve disproportionate effort, that it conflicts with WIPO's overriding operational needs and priorities in pursuing its mandate, archiving or statistical purposes, the exercise of official authority vested in WIPO, or legal obligations and the defence of legal claims. No deletion route is published for a WIPO Account with its saved searches and record sets.
Ask: How do we delete a WIPO Account together with its saved searches and record sets, and which of the clause 11.3 grounds would WIPO expect to apply to a law firm's deletion request?
WIPO staff and provider access to submitted content
Not confirmed
The FAQ states an uploaded image is not visible to others and that everything done in the database is confidential (read 2026-09-27), which addresses other users rather than WIPO personnel. Nothing on the pages read states whether WIPO staff or contractors can view a submitted image, a search history or a saved record set, whether such access is logged, or whether it requires authorisation. Clause 10.1 of the Data Privacy Notice refers to physical, technical and administrative controls without describing internal access rules.
Ask: Can WIPO staff or contractors view images submitted to the image search, or a user's search history and saved record sets, on what authorisation, and is that access logged and auditable?
Accounts, authentication and audit
Public claim only
Clause 7 of the Terms of Use covers the optional WIPO Account: the user chooses a login name and password for identification, that login information is personal and confidential, the user is responsible for any damage arising from disclosing it, and the user agrees to notify WIPO of unauthorised use as soon as they are aware. The FAQ states an account is free and quick to create and lets a user save searches and record sets, describing it as 'a safer environment to work in once logged-in'; the pages read do not state that an account is required to run an image search. No single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, role model or user audit log is described.
Ask: Does WIPO offer single sign-on or multi-factor authentication for WIPO Accounts used by a firm, and can a firm obtain an audit log of searches run under its accounts?
Encryption in transit and at rest
Not confirmed
Clause 10.1 of the WIPO Data Privacy Notice states that 'Appropriate physical, technical and administrative controls are implemented by WIPO to secure your Personal Data from threats such as unauthorized or accidental access, damage, or loss', without naming encryption in transit or at rest, key management or any standard. No security page or technical security statement for the Global Brand Database was found on the pages read (2026-09-27).
Ask: Are images encrypted in transit and at rest for the period they are held during analysis, what algorithms and key management apply, and who holds the keys?
Independent security assurance
Not confirmed
None of the documents read on 2026-09-27, the Global Brand Database Terms of Use, the WIPO website Terms of Use, the WIPO Data Privacy Notice, the Global Brand Database page, its FAQ or the WIPO AI tools page, claims any certification, penetration test or independent audit covering the Global Brand Database or the image similarity search, and no trust centre or security page for the service was found. A site search of wipo.int for security certification returned WIPO programme performance and internal oversight documents referring to ISO 27001 within WIPO's registration systems; those documents were not opened and do not name the Global Brand Database, so nothing is recorded from them.
Ask: Is the Global Brand Database, including the image similarity search, within the scope of any ISO 27001 certificate or independent audit, and can WIPO provide the certificate and its scope statement?
Contract, liability and forum
Public claim only
The Global Brand Database Terms of Use (November 2022) bind the user by access or use; no negotiated agreement is offered on the pages read. Clause 4.1 provides the data 'on a strictly "as is" basis' with the user 'fully and solely responsible for the use of the data and for any results and consequences of this use'; clause 4.4 states a search result 'does not imply the expression of any legal opinion whatsoever on the part of WIPO concerning the likelihood of confusion or conflicts between trademarks'; clause 6 excludes liability for uses of the data and search results affecting third-party rights and for indirect, incidental, consequential, liquidated, special, punitive or exemplary damages; clause 11 preserves WIPO's privileges and immunities as an international organisation and specialised agency of the United Nations; clause 12 refers disputes to arbitration under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.
Ask: Will WIPO enter any written agreement for professional use of the database, and given clauses 11 and 12 what practical recourse would an Australian firm have if the service failed or disclosed a submitted image?
Cross-border processing and APP 8
Not confirmed
No hosting country or region is published for the database or for the image analysis. The WIPO Data Privacy Notice states WIPO's headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, and says nothing about where processing occurs; the Terms of Use and FAQ refer only to 'our servers'. For a different WIPO tool, PATENTSCOPE AI-Assisted Search, WIPO published on 2 July 2026 that 'The language model is hosted on WIPO premises' and that queries are 'executed only on WIPO servers'; no equivalent statement was found for the Global Brand Database image search and that statement is about another service, so it is not read across.
Ask: In which countries are uploaded images received and processed, where does the matching model run, and is any Australian processing location or data-residency option available?
Incident and breach notification
Not confirmed
Neither the Global Brand Database Terms of Use (November 2022) nor the WIPO Data Privacy Notice (16 October 2023) contains a security incident or data breach notification commitment to users. The only notification duty in the terms runs the other way: clause 7 requires the user to notify WIPO of unauthorised use of their login information. Clause 2.4 lets WIPO block access for unauthorised or abusive use without notice provisions.
Ask: Will WIPO notify users of a security incident affecting the Global Brand Database or submitted images, within what period, and through which channel?
Change notice for terms, data and the feature
Public claim only
Clause 10 of the Terms of Use lets WIPO amend them at any time at its sole discretion, with amendments posted on the website and taking effect immediately following posting unless stated otherwise; clause 5 reserves WIPO's right to modify, remove or correct any data in the database at any time, in its sole discretion and without prior notification; clause 14 of the Data Privacy Notice is to the same effect for that notice. Collection additions are published as dated news items on the Global Brand Database page, for example Peru on 14 April 2026 and Paraguay on 10 March 2026. No notice mechanism is published for changes to the image search itself or to the matching model.
Ask: Is there a subscription or notification route for changes to the Terms of Use and to the image search, and will WIPO announce changes to the matching model that alter results?
Export and exit
Public claim only
There is no bulk export. Clause 2.1 of the Terms of Use forbids bulk acquisition, downloading and storing of data and bulk copying, reformatting, sharing and redistributing; the FAQ states a maximum of 180 records can be selected and downloaded as a report, that this cap exists because agreements with participating national offices preclude redistribution, and that the database is not available for sale. No route is published for exporting a WIPO Account's saved searches, record sets or search history, and no image search history feature is described.
Ask: If we stop using the database, can we export our saved searches and record sets, and is there a documented way to obtain our search history for a matter file?
Connectors, APIs and automation
Public claim only
Clause 2.1 of the Terms of Use forbids automated queries, web scraping and bulk downloading, and states that more than 10 search-related actions per minute from a single IP address can be considered excessive; the FAQ repeats that the terms disallow using a robot to perform searches and disallow automatic search or download of results. No public API for the image similarity search is described on the pages read; WIPO publishes an IP API catalogue elsewhere on its site, which was not opened. Clause 2.4 lets WIPO block access for breach.
Ask: Is there a sanctioned API or licence for programmatic image similarity searching for professional clearance work, and what rate limits and fees would apply to a firm?
Retrieval beyond the listed collections
Public claim only
The published description of the feature is a search of the Global Brand Database's own collections: the AI tools page says it finds 'similar or identical trademarks in the database', and the Global Brand Database page lists the collections covered. No open-web retrieval, general internet search or external lookup is described for the image search. The Terms of Use state in their preamble that they do not apply to the online databases of national and regional authorities reached through the Global Brand Database via hyperlinks, so following those links takes the user outside this service.
Ask: Does the image similarity search ever query any source outside the collections listed on the coverage page, and does it ever send a submitted image to an external service?
Autonomy and action control
Public claim only
On the pages read (2026-09-27), the feature returns search results to the user: an uploaded image produces a set of matching records, which the user may filter, display in list, grid or gallery layout, and add to a report of up to 180 records. Nothing describes the feature taking any further step, such as filing, corresponding with an office, or notifying a third party. Clause 4.4 of the Terms of Use states the results carry no WIPO opinion on likelihood of confusion, and the FAQ states WIPO is not mandated to conduct searches for third parties.
Ask: Does any part of the image search act beyond returning results, for example saving, sharing, monitoring or notifying on the user's behalf, and can those behaviours be turned off?
Human verification before reliance
Public claim only
The Terms of Use put verification on the user: clause 4.1 provides the data 'on a strictly "as is" basis' with the user fully and solely responsible for its use and consequences; clause 4.2 states national and regional data is published as provided by the authorities and updated only when they send updates, and that WIPO will not change national data at a user's request; clause 4.4 states a search result implies no WIPO opinion on likelihood of confusion or conflict. The FAQ, answering whether an absent brand name means the name is available, states WIPO is not mandated to conduct searches for third parties and that a search of national office databases is also recommended.
Ask: What verification does WIPO expect before a clearance opinion relies on an image similarity result, and does WIPO publish anything about the matches the feature does not return?
