Mayor Steve Rotheram says the award should translate into high-value jobs, investment and real improvements in residents’ lives, not just a trophy.

Colin Sinclair credits quadruple-helix collaboration—business, government, academia, and community—and highlights the boost to investment, innovation, and local and global impact.

The University of Liverpool plays a central role in innovation, with extensive patent activity and an Enterprise Team focused on protecting and commercialising IP to drive regional growth.

A memorandum of understanding with the University of Liverpool and WIPO lays the groundwork for a joint LL.M. in IP, Innovation and Sustainable Creative Industries, the first of its kind between WIPO and a UK university, launching autumn 2027.

Liverpool has been named a City of Innovation by WIPO at a Geneva ceremony, recognized for an inclusive vision to boost creativity and growth across the city region.

Liverpool is one of three cities awarded the title, alongside Charleroi and Shanghai, in a program led by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Liverpool City Council, Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, and Sci-Tech Daresbury.

The designation places Liverpool in an inaugural group with Shanghai and Charleroi, and comes with global recognition, networking opportunities with innovation policymakers and the IP community, plus a commemorative plaque and trophy.

Graduates will be prepared to address future IP challenges, including AI and its implications for IP practice.

The program will train graduates to understand AI and its implications for IP, among other future challenges.

Key quotes from Prof. Fell, Daren Tang, and UK IPO emphasize strengthening global innovation ecosystems and preparing future leaders in IP, innovation, and the creative industries.

The program takes a transdisciplinary approach, welcoming cohorts from law, arts, music, science, technology and business, with flexible pathways in international IP, new technologies, creative industries, platform regulation, branding, commercialization, sustainability, and life sciences.

Aligned with MusicFutures, the new LL.M links Liverpool’s broader innovation vision to academia-industry-government collaboration, expanding IP and commercialization support and inclusive innovation.