Based on the returns to the questionnaire[5] and on several observer organizations’ submissions, the SCT identified existing divergences, common trends and possible areas of convergence, as well as users’ preferred practices.
The proposal consists in adding in Article 3(1)(a) of the draft DLT (which sets a maximum list of indications or elements to be included in an application for design protection) a non-mandatory requirement of disclosure of the origin or source of traditional cultural expressions, traditional knowledge or biological/genetic resources utilized or incorporated in an industrial design.
[11] A breakthrough came when the 2022 session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly approved to convene a Diplomatic Conference to negotiate the Design Law Treaty (DLT).
[11][12] In preparation for the Diplomatic Conference, and as mandated by the 2022 WIPO General Assembly Decision, the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) met in a Special Session “to further close any existing gaps to a sufficient level” from October 2 to 6, 2023, in Geneva (Switzerland).
[1] At the end of the Diplomatic Conference, on 22 November 2024, the DLT was adopted,[1] with 193 WIPO member states attending the signing ceremony.