Page 167 - DMGT545_INTERNATIONAL_BUSINESS

International Business

notes provide protection to the layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits (referred in
the WTO Agreement as “layout-designs”.
In the event of trading in an integrated circuit incorporating an unlawfully reproduced
layout design or any article incorporating such an integrated circuit, the person concerned,
upon being informed of such an act, shall pay the “holder a sum equivalent to a reasonable
royalty such as would be payable under a freely negotiated license in respect of such a
layout design”.
!

Caution Copying or reproducing any published or copyrighted work of literary or artistic
nature is illegitimate and is punishable by law.

8.1.8 indian ic layout Design act

The Semi-conductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000, which received Presidential
assent in September 2000, among other things, mentions the following:

“Layout Design” means a layout of transistors and other circuitry elements and included lead
wires connecting such elements and expressed in any manner in a semiconductor circuit.
“Semiconductor Integrated Circuit” means a product having transistors and other circuitry
elements which are inseparably formed on semi-conductor material or on insulating material or
inside semi-conductor material and designed to perform an electronic circuitry function.

The Act disallows registration for IC layout design that:
1. is not original; or
2. has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country; or
3. is not inherently distinctive; or
4. is not inherently distinguishable from any other registered layout design.

The registration of a layout design is for a period of 10 years from the date of filling of an
application for registration or from the date of first commercial exploitation anywhere in India or
any country, whichever is earlier.
Industrial Designs: A design must satisfy the following:
1. It must be new or original, meaning that the design must have not been previously
published.
2. It must relate to the features of shape.
3. It must be applied to any article by industrial process.
4. It should appeal to and be judged solely by the naked eye.
Article 25 on “Requirements for Protection” states that:
1. Members shall provide for the protection of independently created industrial designs that
are new or original.
2. Each member shall ensure that requirements for securing protection for textile designs, in
particular in regard to any cost, examination or publication, do not unreasonably impair
the opportunity to seek and obtain such protection.
Article 26 on ‘Protection’ states that:

1. The owner of a protected industrial design shall have the right to prevent third parties not
having the owner’s consent from making, selling, selling or importing articles bearing or

162 lovely Professional university