The 46th session of the Standing Committee of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT/46 Committee) was held on November 21 to 23, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. The meetings took place in a hybrid mode, with presence in the hall and online participation.
According to the Agenda, during the current session of the SCT Committee, several topics related to:
- Convening of a Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Design Law Treaty (DLT);
- Industrial Design Protection for Designs for Graphical User Interfaces (GUI);
- Protection of Country Names and Geographical Names of National Significance, including in the Domain Name System (DNS);
- Protection of Nation Brands in Member States;
- Protection of Geographical Indications.
More than 350 representatives from WIPO Member States, international governmental and non-governmental organizations participated in the SCT/46 Committee.
The Republic of Moldova was represented by Simion Levitchi, head of the Trademarks and Industrial Design Department, and Tatiana Rusu, head of the National Trademarks Division, AGEPI. Simion Levitchi acted as Acting Chair of SCT/46.
The meeting of the SCT/46 Committee was opened by Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, who mentioned the importance of the current meeting of the Committee to discuss in detail the topics with reference to trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications.
Within SCT/46 it was mentioned that according to the WIPO General Assembly that took place on July 14-22, 2022, the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Design Law Treaty (DLT) is to be convened no later than in 2024. In for this purpose the SCT is to meet in a special session in the second half of 2023, before the convening of the Preparatory Committee.
The development of recommendations regarding the protection of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) was also discussed during the meeting. According to the Agenda, the topics related to the protection of nation brands in the Member States were addressed and an information session was planned within SCT/47 to analyze the practice of different states. The subject of geographical indications was addressed both in the plenary sessions and in the Information Session on Geographical Indications.
The communications presented during the information session can be accessed at:
https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=72488.
It was decided that the next information session on geographical indications will take place within SCT/47.
The full agenda of the SCT/46 Committee can be accessed at the following address: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/sct/en/sct_46/sct_46_1_prov_5.pdf.
