WIPO中国：面向设计人的新条约

2022年，产权组织大会决定召开一次外交会议，以结束酝酿多年的外观设计法条约（DLT）谈判。但什么是外观设计？该条约有望给设计人带来什么变化？

In 2022, the WIPO General Assembly decided to convene a diplomatic conference to conclude negotiations on the design law treaty (DLT), which has been years in the making. But what is design? And what difference is the treaty expected to make to designers?

外观设计涵盖许多领域，从家具、时装和包装设计到产品、软件和汽车设计。外观设计最基本的功能是确定物品的外观和感觉。外观设计随处可见，比如我们穿的衣服、坐的椅子，查看天气的应用等。外观设计对产品在市场上取得成功也起着关键作用——我们买东西不仅是出于需要，还因为我们喜欢它们的设计。

Design encompasses many fields, from furniture, fashion and packaging design to product, software and automotive design. At its most basic, design dictates an object’s look and feel. It is all around us, in the clothes we wear, the chair we sit on and the app we use to check the weather. Design also plays a key role in the market success of products – we buy things not only because we need them but also because we like their design.

这部条约的目的是让设计人更容易地在全球范围内保护自己的作品，从而更有保障地生活。

The objective of the treaty is to make it easier for designers to protect their works around the globe and thereby make a more secure living.

确保知识产权保护是关键

Securing IP protection is key

企业之所以在外观设计研发上投入时间和金钱，是因为它们知道外观设计可以影响消费者，并为它们带来市场竞争优势。然而，如果没有知识产权的保护，这些投资可能会付诸东流。如果没有保护，外观设计一经推出，就会被搭便车者抄袭。这就限制了创造者的竞争优势和外观设计对消费者的独特吸引力。因此，获得知识产权保护是任何创意过程中的关键步骤，因为它提供了专有权并提供了法律补救措施，以防止他人未经许可抄袭外观设计并进行商业化使用。

Businesses invest time and money in design R&D because they know that design can influence consumers and give them a competitive edge in the marketplace. When not protected by IP rights, however, those investments may be for naught. Without protection, a design can be copied by free riders as soon as it is launched. That limits its creator’s competitive advantage and the design’s unique appeal to consumers. Securing IP protection is, therefore, a key step in any creative process, as it provides exclusive rights and makes available legal remedies to prevent others from copying and commercially exploiting designs without permission.

企业界对此深有体会。产权组织根据全球数据发布的统计数据显示，2022年全球的工业品外观设计申请总量达到110万件，其中包含的外观设计项数在2008年至2022年期间几乎保持稳定增长。

Business understands this. Statistics published by WIPO based on global data reveal that industrial design applications worldwide totaled 1.1 million in 2022 and showed a near-steady increase of designs contained therein between 2008 and 2022.

保护程序：迷宫？

Protection procedures: a maze?

保护外观设计的过程看似迷宫，目前有两方面的障碍。

The process for protecting designs can seem like a maze and the hurdles today are twofold.

首先，各国保护外观设计的手段各不相同。在有些国家，外观设计必须作为“注册外观设计”提交。注册制度可能涉及知识产权局对外观设计申请的审查，而审查的内容因国而异。在其他司法管辖区，外观设计作为“外观设计专利”受专利法保护，通常只有在知识产权局对外观设计申请进行充分审查后才会授予专利权。

First, the means of protecting design vary from one country to another. In some countries, designs must be filed as “registered designs”. Registration systems may involve the examination of design applications by the IP office, and what that involves varies from country to country. In other jurisdictions, designs are protected under patent law as “design patents”, which are usually only granted after a thorough examination of the design application by the IP office.

其次，不管是通过注册还是通过授予外观设计专利来获得保护，外观设计人一般都必须遵守其寻求保护的国家的知识产权局规定的申请程序。由于外观设计权具有地域性，因此仅限于获得保护的国家或地区，外观设计人必须在希望保护其外观设计的每个国家或地区履行相同的程序。

Second, and regardless of whether protection is obtained via registration or through the grant of a design patent, designers generally must follow the filing procedures set by the IP office of the country in which they are seeking protection. Because design rights are territorial and thus limited to the country or region in which protection was obtained, designers must go through the same process in each country or region where they wish to protect their designs.

所有这些都给设计人在多个司法管辖区保护其外观设计带来了困难和麻烦。

All of this makes it difficult and cumbersome for designers to protect their designs in multiple jurisdictions.

DLT伸出援手

DLT to the rescue

如果DLT获得通过，它将简化和精简保护程序，消除繁文缛节。这将有助于提高外观设计保护程序框架的可预测性，降低程序本身的复杂性，使其更易于负担。设计人在多个不同的司法管辖区提出申请将更加容易。

The DLT, if adopted, will simplify and streamline protection procedures and eliminate red tape. This will help to make the framework for design protection procedures more predictable and make the procedures themselves less complex and more affordable. It will be easier for designers to file applications in several different jurisdictions.

条约作出哪些规定

What the treaty will do

• 对外观设计人在申请时必须提交的说明或要素的清单规定上限。确立一个封闭的要素清单，有助于为外观设计保护程序建立一个可预测的框架：希望提出申请的外观设计人将清楚地知道可能需要哪些说明或要素。

  set a maximum list of indications or elements that designers must submit with an application. Establishing a closed list of elements will help to create a predictable framework for design protection procedures: designers wishing to file an application will know exactly what indications or elements may be required.

• 允许申请人选择在申请中表现外观设计的方式（绘图、照片，或在知识产权局允许的情况下，视频）。

  allow applicants to choose how they represent the design in an application (drawings, photographs or, if admitted by the IP office, video).

• 在某些条件下，允许申请人在一份申请中包含多项设计。

  allow applicants to include several designs in a single application, under certain conditions.

• 对授予申请日的要求作出规定。尽量减少外观设计申请的申请日要求至关重要，因为在外观设计领域，推迟申请日会导致权利的最终丧失。

  set out requirements for the granting of a filing date. Keeping the list of filing-date requirements for design applications to a minimum is crucial because, in the field of design, postponing the filing date can result in a definitive loss of rights.

• 规定在首次公开外观设计后有6个月或12个月的宽限期，在此期间的此种公开不会影响其新颖性。

  provide for a grace period of six or 12 months following a first disclosure of the design, during which such disclosure will not affect its novelty.

• 允许申请人在获得申请日后至少六个月内不公布其外观设计。

  allow applicants to keep their designs unpublished for at least six months after having secured a filing date.

• 规定救济措施并为申请人提供一定的灵活性，以防止申请人因错过时限而丧失权利。如果没有此种措施，错过时限一般会导致权利的丧失。就外观设计而言，这种损失是无法弥补的。

  provide relief measures and offer some flexibility to applicants to prevent them from losing their rights if they miss a deadline. Without such measures, missing a time limit generally results in a loss of rights. In the case of designs, that loss is irreparable.

• 简化请求续展外观设计注册的程序。

  simplify the procedure for requesting the renewal of a design registration.

通往外交会议之旅

The journey to the Diplomatic Conference

本次外交会议的目标是完成始于2005年的旅程，当时商标、工业品外观设计和地理标志法律常设委员会（SCT）第十五届会议商定着手制定外观设计注册程序。

The goal of the Diplomatic Conference is to complete a journey that began in 2005, when, at its 15th session, the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) agreed to start working on design registration procedures.

多年来，委员会仔细审查了作为条约核心的这些程序以及其他相关问题。委员会还努力确保条约草案的条款符合产权组织大会2007年通过的、将发展方面的考量置于本组织工作核心的产权组织发展议程建议。

Over the years, the Committee has scrutinized those procedures, which lie at the core of the treaty, and other related issues. It has also worked to ensure that the draft treaty’s provisions comply with the WIPO Development Agenda Recommendations, adopted by the WIPO General Assembly in 2007 to put development considerations at the heart of the Organization’s work.

外交会议前的筹备过程具有包容性，考虑到了产权组织成员国不同的发展水平、利益和优先事项，也考虑了其他利益攸关方的观点。在围绕条约草案工作时，委员会还考虑了有关国际知识产权协定中的灵活性，尤其是发展中国家和最不发达国家感兴趣的协定。

The process leading up to the Diplomatic Conference has been inclusive, taking into account the different levels of development, interests and priorities of WIPO member states, and the viewpoints of other stakeholders. In its work on the draft treaty, the Committee has also taken into account the need for flexibility in international IP agreements, especially those of interest to developing and least-developed countries.