IFHA attends, as formal observer, the Copyright Committee of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The Copyright Committee, meeting 17-19 November in Geneva, prepares international treaties on the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights.

According to the IFHA, global IP protection on horseracing data and images is needed. Racing data is currently being pirated by companies that do not pay for the data upon which they base their business model.

National (copyright) laws already offer much protection, but in view of the international dimension of piracy, in particular through new media like the Internet, international rules are needed.