Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2-2026
Newsletter
International Review of Intellectual Property & Competition Law
Abstract
Introduction:
From the outside, the Riyadh Design Law Treaty (RDLT) has long appeared as a modest administrative measure. Negotiated in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Trademarks (SCT), it has repeatedly been characterized as a “procedural treaty” concerned with filing formalities rather than substantive reform. The contrast with the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK Treaty) is striking. Both treaties were adopted in 2024 after 20+ years of negotiation. But only the GRATK Treaty attracted sustained scholarly and civil society engagement; the RDLT attracted almost none.
External Links
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40319-026-01679-9#author-information
Recommended Citation
Farley, Christine and Bagley, Margo, "Framing Harmonization: Illusion and Reality in the Riyadh Design Law Treaty" (2026). Editorial Contributions. 15.
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/pub_disc_ed/15