On Thursday, 8 May 2014, the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) appointed Francis Gurry as Director General for a second term. This second term would run from 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2020.
The General Assembly also addressed the following topic: “Consideration of the Convening of a Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Design Law Treaty.” At the close of business on Friday, 9 May 2014, the General Assembly could not reach consensus on convening a Diplomatic Conference on concluding the Design Law Treaty.
The main issue of contention was technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries and LDCs in the implementation of a possible Design Law Treaty. Many developing countries insisted that a specific article of the Design Law Treaty be crafted to address technical assistance and capacity building whereas the United States preferred that language on technical assistance should be framed as a resolution.
Informed sources noted that another undercurrent in play was the proposed venue for a possible diplomatic conference. In 2013, Russia offered to host the Diplomatic Conference, but perhaps in light of recent events in the Crimea, this would appear a less likely option. Group B countries reportedly preferred Geneva as a venue, with the new WIPO Conference Center expected to be operational by September 2014.
Secretariat document WO/GA/45/2 reflected the divergent views of the membership in paragraph 19,
19. With regard to technical assistance and capacity building, all delegations stated that progress was made on this matter. A number of delegations expressed the view that technical assistance provisions had to be in the form of an article. On this particular issue, other delegations said they were flexible. Some other delegations said that, although they preferred a resolution, they would consider an article, but not as a precondition for convening a diplomatic conference.
The 8 May 2014 version of the decision point stated,
WIPO General Assembly
Noting the progress made at the thirty-first session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) in relation to draft Articles and Regulations of a proposed Design Law Treaty, the WIPO General Assembly decided to convene a diplomatic conference to conclude the Design Law Treaty.
It is agreed that the diplomatic conference will adopt a resolution or an article regarding technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries and LDCs in the implementation of the future Design Law Treaty.
The diplomatic conference will be held in Geneva in 2014.
The African Group, the Development Agenda Group and many members of the Asia Pacific Group were quite strident in their support of the insertion of legally binding article on technical assistance in the Design Law Treaty. Perhaps, the recent breakdown of negotiations at SCCR27 on the future work of limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives made an indelible imprint in the memories of certain delegates.
Here are some choice interventions made by some proponents on the Design Law Treaty at the conclusion of the May General Assembly.
The Czech Republic on behalf of CEBS asserted: “We attach great importance to the DLT. Users are held hostage to our inability to reach compromise.”
Japan (Group B): “It is very regrettable we couldn’t reach a decision to convene a Design Law Treaty.”
As IP-Watch reported, the Group B representative (Japan) expressed the following view,
“This fact deepens our regret that some are imposing a condition on the convening of a diplomatic conference preventing us from moving forward,” Japan said on behalf of Group B.
IP-Watch reported Oliver Hall-Allen of the European Union expressing the view that WIPO
once again failed to find agreement on the convening of a Diplomatic Conference to establish a Design Law Treaty, despite the clear window of opportunity and the obvious maturity of the text.”
“It is clear that consensus remains elusive due to a single issue of concern for a limited number of delegations,” the EU delegate said. “In our future discussions we should ensure that we uphold the high level of ambition of our nearly completed work in order to preserve our common achievement.
The African Group underscored the importance their Group attached to the question of inclusion on an article in the Design Law Treaty on technical assistance:
While we regret that at the end we could not reach a favourable outcome, we note that the cooperative spirit and understanding which characterized the informal consultations will be invaluable going forward.
We note that the position of the Group with regard to having an article on technical assistance and capacity building as part of the Draft Design Law Treaty is not at variance with that of other delegations as all Member States have indicated in previous discussions that they could accept the inclusion of an article on technical assistance and capacity building in the Design Law Treaty. The African group is of the considered opinion that this matter should be resolved before the convening of the diplomatic conference. Resolving this matter before the convening of a diplomatic conference will guarantee us success in the conference and enable us to conclude our work in the most efficient and timely manner.
As consensus could not be reached on taking the decision to convene a Diplomatic Conference at the May 2014 General Assembly, the General Assembly adopted the following decision which punted the ball to the September 2014 General Assembly. In addition, the decision made no mention of the venue.
WIPO/GA/45
Chair’s proposed decision paragraph for item 4 (Rev. 3)
The WIPO General Assembly:
(a) notes the progress made at the thirty-first session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) in relation to draft Articles and Regulations of a proposed Design Law Treaty;
(b) encourages delegations to hold informal consultations prior to the 54th series of meetings of the WIPO Assemblies to take place in September 2014 with a view to resolving pending issues;
(c) will at its session in September 2014 decide on whether to convene a diplomatic conference for the adoption of a Design Law Treaty as soon as practicable at a venue to be decided.