The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) is a trade association

Trade association

A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...

 that is composed of owners of intellectual property

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...

 (represented mostly by in-house corporate counsel and private practice attorneys practicing in the field) and other parties interested in intellectual property law. According to its "About IPO" page, the organization is composed about 200 companies and more than 10,000 individuals who are involved in the association either through their companies or as IPO inventor, author, executive, law firm or attorney members. IPO’s corporate members file about 30 percent of the patent applications filed in the USPTO each year by U.S. nationals.

The Association advocates for reforms of patent, trademark and other intellectual property laws (in front of Congress and the courts) that it believes will advantage its members and the users of intellectual property systems, and is often consulted by governments to provide an opinion on proposed changes in law as bellwether

Bellwether

A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram leading his flock of sheep.The movements of...

for how the relevant communities will be impacted by the proposed change. IPO publications state that IPO supports reforms to enhance the quality of patents and trademarks granted by the USPTO and reduce the uncertainty and high costs of litigation for all users of the systems.

In addition, the Association provides continuing legal education (CLE) for attorneys in the IP field in a variety of "conferences and seminars" throughout the year.