Outcome Eighth Session Lisbon Working Group (Dec 2-6, 2013)

Highlights

The Working Group examined in detail all the provisions of the draft Revised Lisbon Agreement (document LI/WG/DEV/8/2) and the draft Regulations (document LI/WG/DEV/8/3).
Constructive discussions took place among Lisbon member states and observer delegations, allowing the Working Group to make further significant progress on the texts as a whole as well as on some of the pending issues (notably, the issues of scope of protection and safeguards for other rights (e.g., prior trademarks)).

As reflected in the Summary by the Chair that was adopted by the Working Group at the end of the eighth session, prior to the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Lisbon Agreement, which is to be held in 2015, two further Working Group sessions will take place, in the first and second half of 2014, respectively (the ninth and tenth sessions). The precise dates for these sessions have not yet been determined.

At the last of these sessions (the tenth session), the Working Group will focus on technically preparing the texts of the draft Revised Lisbon Agreement and the draft Regulations for the Diplomatic Conference and on reducing the number of pending issues. Consequently, proposals and discussions should be limited to pending issues and resolved issues would not be re-opened. The tenth session will be combined with the Preparatory Meeting for the Diplomatic Conference, which will draw up the draft Rules of Procedure for the Diplomatic Conference.