In 2007, I began attending sessions of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO’s) Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs, and Geographical Indications (SCT) in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the development of the Design Law Treaty. I attended these yearly meetings typically on behalf of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), though occasionally as a representative of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). I was consistently intrigued by the opportunity to bring harmony to international design law—an area plagued by discord and confusion, including disagreement over the very terminology used to describe the right (e.g., design patent, industrial design, design registration, design model, aesthetic model, etc.).  Fast forward 17 years, and I found myself in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, attending the final Diplomatic Conference for the Design Law Treaty.

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