WIPO's SCT Examines Trademark and Design Law and Practice

GENEVA - The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT), meeting June 22-26, 2009, examined areas of possible convergence in industrial design law and practice, as well as questions relating to grounds for refusal of all types of marks and technical and procedural aspects of the registration of certification and collective marks.

According to WIPO, this work will continue at the next session of the SCT November 23-26, 2009.

In discussions relating to the Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, SCT members agreed to further examine the protection of state names against registration or use as trademarks.

Responses to a proposed questionnaire will serve as the basis of future deliberations on this topic. Article 6ter of the Paris Convention provides for the protection of flags, armorial bearings and other state emblems.

The SCT also took note, following a decision by the Paris Union Assembly in 2008, of the launch of the new periodical electronic publication relating to emblems protected under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention which are now available free of charge in a fully searchable database.