"Standstill On Industrial Design Treaty, Country Names, GIs In WIPO Committee" is the name of a recent article posted on Intellectual Property Watch. Its author, Catherine Saez, opens with the following frustrating news for those who hope for an acceleration, or at least the maintenance of momentum, of progress towards a higher degree of normative harmonisation and functional efficiency in terms of international design protection. She writes:

Hopes to gain ground in discussions toward a procedural treaty on industrial design applications were not met this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization. ...

At issue is a request from the African Group to include a provision on disclosure requirements for genetic resources and traditional knowledge in industrial design applications to prevent misappropriation of traditional industrial designs. This is strongly opposed by developed countries.

You can read the rest of the article here.