Plans to protect design and traditional knowledge escalate
The World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO) has decided to shift two key international agreements to diplomatic conferences following “years of negotiations”.
The agreements affected are a proposed Design Law Treaty, under which the protection of designs could ease cross-border trade; and a pact concerning intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.
The approval to convene the diplomatic conferences (dedicated negotiating rounds in which agreements may be concluded) for both agreements will be held no later than 2024 for each of the draft accords.
The decision, announced at a meeting held at WIPO headquarters in Geneva last week, July 14-22, elicited tears from delegates, and signals an acceleration of the process that may lead to the protections being adopted.
An ‘emotional breakthrough’
In an interview with WIPR, WIPO director general Daren Tang said the move is “really significant” and marks what feels like the “end of a marathon”.
“It's very exciting. People were really emotional when the breakthrough was revealed. Some colleagues and departments had been working on this for 10 to 15 years.
“I could see tears and it was really quite amazing. I didn't expect this—no one expected it.”
He added that the detailed timeline is yet to be worked out, but that the secretariat’s role will be to facilitate and support the process.
“We think we can play a very constructive role, as we did last week, by creating the best atmosphere for people to come together and talk.”
Such talks, he said, can result in outcomes “that can change the whole global IP landscape”.
“We're going to continue to bring our expertise and support to all the member states, because these are going to be complex negotiations,” he added.
“It is as if we have been running a marathon for 22 years. And we finally got approval last week so we can start jogging towards the stadium. And we can enter the final lap in that stadium and hopefully, from there we can cross the finishing line together.”
Potential impact
Last Thursday, July 21, Tang addressed the 900 delegates who attended the assembly—the largest number of registrants since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Describing the decision as a “triumph of multilateralism”, he said: “Of course there are disagreements, there will be divergences—this is just the beginning of a whole new set of conversations…
“All I ask is that you give this your full attention and care because in the end, these proposed treaties are not mere pieces of paper—they could really have an impact on people around the world.”
Design Law Treaty
If adopted, the Design Law Treaty (DLT) could make protecting designs easier, faster and cheaper, both in home and international markets, by eliminating red tape and streamlining the system, said WIPO.
If approved, the new treaty would benefit the design community, especially smaller-scale designers with less access to legal support for registering their designs.
In particular, the DLT would make it “significantly easier” for SMEs in low and medium-income countries to obtain design protection overseas.
The treaty would “harmonise design practices across IP offices and make it easier for designers to file applications across the world” Tang told WIPR.
The WIPO’s work to improve procedures for the protection of industrial designs commenced in 2006 and evolved into a set of draft Articles and draft Regulations for a treaty.
Similar treaties already exist for patents ( Patent Law Treaty of 2000) and trademarks ( Trademark Law Treaty of 1994 and Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks of 2006).
IP, traditional knowledge and genetic resources
The other key agreement proposed by WIPO aims to improve the protection of IP, genetic resources (GR) and associated traditional knowledge (TK), as well as the protection of TK in itself, traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) and expressions of folklore.
If passed, this pact would address certain IP questions related to accessing, using and sharing these resources and knowledge systems.
For example, WIPO said there is widespread support among member states for a new ‘patent disclosure requirement’, which would obligate applicants for patents whose inventions use genetic resources and associated TK to disclose that fact and other related information in their patent applications.
Other ideas include more extensive use of databases of information about genetic resources and TK, which would help patent examiners to avoid granting erroneous patents.
Proponents for this new pact argue that it would “harmonise diverse national systems, foster the sustainable development of indigenous and local communities, provide legal certainty and predictability for businesses, and improve the quality, effectiveness and transparency of the patent system”.
The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore has been working on a legal instrument covering these areas since 2010.
