The International Publishers Association, established in Paris in 1896, is a group of 60 member organisations in 54 countries. It is a professional organisation of national associations which are recognised as representative of publishers in each country. The office of the secretariat is in Geneva. The Association’s primary mission is to safeguard the fundamental freedoms to publish and to read. It defends the rights of authors and publishers to create and distribute the works of the mind without hindrance while respecting the local and international rights attached to these works. The Association will steadfastly oppose any threat to restricting these rights anywhere in the world.