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International Marketing

Notes The protection being provided exclusively under Article 23 for wines and spirits is
unfortunately not available to several products from the developing world.

Layout Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits: With regard to the treaty on
intellectual property in respect of Integrated Circuits (IPIC Treaty), members agreed to
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”.

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 semi-conductor circuit.
“Semi-conductor 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 is:
Not original; or
That has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country; or

That is not inherently distinctive; or
That 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:
It must be new or original, meaning that the design must have not been previously
published.

It must relate to the features of shape.
It must be applied to any article by industrial process.

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.

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