IPO also chimed in: https://www.regulations.gov/comment/PTO-C-2023-0010-0008
Like AIPLA, they don't want practitioners to be called "design patent attorneys" or "design patent agents."

IPO also chimed in: https://www.regulations.gov/comment/PTO-C-2023-0010-0008
Like AIPLA, they don't want practitioners to be called "design patent attorneys" or "design patent agents."

Note again that: The current registration system doesn't actually ensure design competence. So if the new system involves a design-specific test, those practitioners WOULD have proved a higher degree of specialized knowledge.
Again, that's not to say that some current practitioners aren't design patent experts. But they didn't prove that by passing the current exam.