EXCO/IT25/RES/001
STRENGTHENING THE PRACTICE OF THE INDEPENDENT IP ATTORNEY
www.ficpi.org
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Resolution of the Executive Committee, Naples, Italy
13 and 16 October 2025
“Speed of design examination and availability of deferral”
FICPI
, the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys, broadly representative
of the free profession throughout the world, assembled at its Executive Committee at the
World Congress held in Naples, Italy, 13 to 17 October 2025, passed the following resolution:
NOTING
that the design rights are an important intellectual property right to protect
innovative designs for commercial products and ensures that designers are incentivised to
continue to create products embodying new designs;
FURTHER NOTING
that applicants for design rights need a uniform and consistent approach
under the Paris Convention to protect their innovative designsand under a timeframe that
meets their commercial needs;
OBSERVING
that the timelines for the development and commercialised of products that are
the subject of registered design/design patent applications range from a matter of weeks or
months for some goods such as fashion items, to much longer periods measured in years for
complex products such as automobiles;
FURTHER OBSERVING
that in the former category it is important for rights to be granted
quickly so that they can be rapidly enforced against imitation products and counterfeits,
whereas in the latter category it is sometimes necessary for designs to remain secret, while
products are being refined and perfected for commercial launch;
FURTHER OBSERVING
that many designs between the two extremes do not require expedited
or deferred treatment;
URGES
Intellectual Property offices to provide options for:
•
cost-efficient and effective expedited examination procedures for registered
design/design patent applications; and
•
cost-efficient and effective formal deferral procedures for registered design/design
patent applications.