Final stage of negotiations on Design Law Treaty

By Enrique Cheang, E.C.V. & Asociados

Delegates from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states opened the final stage of negotiations on a proposed treaty that will support designers around the world in seeking protection for their designs.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang highlighted the importance of the diplomatic conference. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support designers around the world. Together, we can help make design protection simpler and more accessible. We can streamline and harmonize processes and we can make it easier and more affordable for designers to protect and move their designs across borders," he said.

The current draft text with the working title Design Law Treaty (DLT) would make it significantly easier for designers, especially smaller scale designers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to register their work. The DLT would deal with the procedures for obtaining design protection, not with questions such as the legal definition of design or the conditions for protection, which would remain within the purview of the contracting parties.

Similar treaties already exist in other intellectual property (IP) categories, including patents and trademarks. The DLT aims to fill the gap in the area of designs. A "Basic Proposal" will serve as the basis for negotiations.

Domestic design applications accounted for 82 percent of the total design filings in 2023, the latest year for which there are data, showing the potential for increased filing across borders that would be made easier through streamlined registration processes.

By making products attractive to consumers, designs drive consumer choices. In fact, a product’s success is often due to its design. Designs are important for all “creatives,” whether individuals, SMEs or larger companies, in all economic sectors. Designs are business assets that increase a product’s market value and provide a competitive advantage.

Generally, designers need to follow the filing procedures set by the IP office of the country in which they seek protection. Design rights are territorial: The rights arising from protection obtained in one country (or region) are limited to that country (or region).