Next month, WIPO will host a Diplomatic Conference to finalise a Design Law Treaty (DLT). This is the final stage in a multi-year international series of negotiations.
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) leads the development of a balanced and effective global intellectual property ecosystem to promote innovation and creativity for a better and more sustainable future.
IP Australia opened the consultation from August 23 to September 22, 2024, for public feedback on proposed outcomes; read more here.
Design Law Treaty (DLT)
The DLT is a procedural treaty designed to harmonise administrative procedures for protecting designs in different countries rather than changing the law regarding what a design right protects.
The treaty will set out the maximum requirements an intellectual property (IP) office can impose on a design applicant. Most of the text is agreed, but the outstanding issues include:
- Grace periods, namely, the periods after public disclosure of the product when you can still seek design registration (Article 6)
- Whether a procedural treaty should include substantive law (e.g. proposal for term of protection in Article 9bis)
- The option for an office to require disclosure when a designer has utilised any traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions or biological/genetic resources in the design (Article 3)
- Whether IP offices should be required to provide an electronic system for design applications (Article 9ter and 9quater)
- The assistance WIPO should provide to developing countries (e.g. technical assistance and capacity building for the treaty’s ratification) (Article 22).
Resources for more information
- Basic Proposal: Articles and Regulations (text that will be considered at the Diplomatic Conference). For your information, the bracket text contains proposed amendments and is not part of the Basic Proposal.
Content provided by IP Australia, September 25, 2024.
