The 63rd General Assembly of the Member States of WIPO took place at the WIPO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in July.
On 22 July 2022, WIPO member states approved the convening of diplomatic conferences for two proposed international agreements. The proposed agreements are in respect of the protection of designs to ease cross border trade and a pact related to intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.
The proposed Design Law Treaty (DLT) is aimed at helping designers obtain easier and cheaper design protection. If approved, it would be significantly easier for small to medium sized enterprises in low- and medium-income countries to obtain foreign design protection.
The approval of a diplomatic conference on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, was celebrated following negotiations dating back to 2010. Genetic resources and traditional knowledge are valuable and integral to the economic and cultural well-being of indigenous communities. The proposed new international legal instrument would address certain intellectual property questions related to access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources and traditional knowledge systems.
The WIPO General Assembly agreed to move to diplomatic conferences by no later than 2024, for each of the draft agreements.
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