Semiconductor and Integrated

Circuits

By,
Vintee Mishra
Brain League IP Services

Copyright Brain League IP Services 2008

 ORIGIN

1947
Bell Labs invents transistor on December 23.
Its first commercial use was in
products for the hearing impaired.

1953
Motorola applies for its first semiconductor related patent
to develop low cost transistors
for audio power stages
of radio communication receivers and auto radios
 1957
The semiconductor industry surpasses
$100 million
in sales for the first time.

1958
Texas Instruments’ Jack Kilby
demonstrates first integrated circuit (IC).

1964
The semiconductor industry surpasses
$1 billion
in sales for the first time.
 1979
The semiconductor 1984
industry surpasses Chip Protection Act becomes law,
$10 billion creating the first new form
in sales of intellectual property (SCPA)
And so as the illegal copying

1985
U.S. and Japanese
governments 1985
agree JAPAN
to eliminate tariffs Act Concerning the
on semiconductors. Circuit Layout of a
SIA files petition Semiconductor
with U.S. government, Integrated circuit
citing unfair Japanese (Law No. 43)
market barriers.
 1986
U.S. and Japan sign agreement to end dumping practices yet
nine of eleven U.S. chip
manufacturers leave market;
Japan overtakes U.S. as the world’s
leading semiconductor producer.

EU takes an action (Council Directive on legal

protection of Topographies of SC products
(87/54/EEC) WIPO Awakens: Washington
Treaty, 1989

The Ultimate – TRIPS, 1994

 PATENT/COPYRIGHT

INVENTIVE STEP

UTILTARIAN
 SCPA, 1984
 “Semiconductor Chip Product” is the final or
intermediate form of any product –

 (A) having two or more layers of metallic,

insulating, or semiconductor material,
 deposited or otherwise placed on, or etched
away or otherwise removed from, a
 piece of semiconductor material in accordance
with a predetermined pattern; and

 (B) intended to perform electronic circuitry

functions;
“Mask Work” is a series of related images, however fixed or
encoded –

(A)having or representing the predetermined, three-dimensional

pattern of metallic, insulating, or semiconductor material
present or removed from the layers of a semiconductor chip
product; and

(B) in which series the relation of the images to one another is

that each image has the pattern of the surface of one form of
the semiconductor chip product;
 Protection to mask work on semiconductor material
 Original = Independent Creation
 Not Known to industry
 Protection for 10 yrs from date of registration or first
commercial exploitation, whichever is earlier
 Commercial Exploitation = Sale, Distribution or Offer
for Sale of mask works in writing
 Notify registration as “M”
 National Treatment
 Reciprocity provisions
 Not overriding Berne or Paris
 Reverse Engineering for analyzing,
evaluating, teaching allowed
 Independent creation permissible but
proper “paper trail” required
 Innocent Infringer and purchaser of
innocent infringer – not infringement till
notice of registration; Royalty has to be
paid
 Doctrine of first sale – rights transfer to
transferee
 EU – 87/54/EEC
‘Semiconductor Product’ shall mean the final or an
intermediate form of any product consisting of a body
of material which includes a layer of semi conducting
material having one or more other layers composed
of conducting, insulating or semi conducting material

‘Topography’ … representing the three-dimensional

pattern of the layers of which a semiconductor
product is composed…
 Protection to topographies on Semiconductor
product

 Protection from the date of registration or first

commercial exploitation anywhere or from first
encoding

 Commercial exploitation means the sale, rental,

leasing or any other method of commercial,
distribution, or an offer for these purposes.
Washington Treaty/IPIC, 1989
“Integrated Circuit” means a product, in its final form or
an intermediate form, in which the elements, at least
one of which is an active element, and some or all of
the interconnections are integrally formed in and/or on
a piece of material and which is intended to perform an
electronic function…

“Layout-design (topography)” means the three

dimensional disposition…prepared for an integrated
circuit intended for manufacture…
 Originality
 Reproduction by third party allowed on
independent creation, observance and
evaluation for analysis, research and
teaching
 Innocent infringement not lawful
 Doctrine of Exhaustion
 Not overriding Paris or Berne
 Term = 8 yrs
 POSITION IN UK, Design right
(Semiconductor Topographies)
Regulations,1989

“Semiconductor Product“ means an

article the purpose of which is the
performance of an electronic function
and which consists of two or more
layers, at least one of which is
composed of semi conducting material
…
“Semiconductor Topography“ means a
(a) the pattern fixed, or intended to be fixed, in or upon—
(i) a layer of a semiconductor product, or
(ii) a layer of material in the course of and for the purpose
of the manufacture of a semiconductor product, or
(b) the arrangement of the patterns fixed, or intended to
be fixed, in or upon the layers of a semiconductor
product in relation to one another.
 Protection to Semiconductor Topographies

 Exclusive Right of reproduction to owner, but others

may reproduce for teaching, analytical and research
purposes or for non commercial aims

 Ten years from the end of the calendar year of the first
sale or hire anywhere in the world by or with the
licence of the design right owner, or

 If neither the topography nor articles made available

within a period of fifteen years of first recording or first
production, then at the end of that period”.
 TRIPS, 1994
 Article 35 – 38
 Protection to Integrated Circuit layout
 10 yrs
 If copied chip was itself unlawfully copied, no
infringement
 Innocent infringer shall pay royalty to the owner
 POSITION IN INDIA
 Section 7 of the Act provides that the layout design can be
registered if it is:

 Original; and
 Not commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a
Convention Country; and
 Inherently distinctive; and
 Inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other
registered lay out design.
 Original:
The layout design is treated as original if,

 it results out of creator's own intellectual efforts;

and
 is not commonly known to the creators of layout
design and manufactures of semiconductor
integrated circuits at the time of creation.

Layout designs are treated as original even if a

layout design consists of combination of elements
and interconnections commonly known to creators
of layout-design, provided such a combination as a
whole is result of creator's own intellectual efforts.
 Commercial Exploitation:
Layout design is treated not to be commercially
exploited if it has been so exploited within two
years of filing the application for registration.

 Term :
10 yrs from the date of filing or first commercial
exploitation

 Exclusive right to use and prevent infringement

 Infringement = Not Original, Commercially exploiting
already registered SC or Layout of other owner

 Non-Infringement = Reverse Engineering,

Independent creation, Exhaustion of rights, Innocent
infringer

 Penalty = Imprisonment up to 3 yrs or Fine up to Rs.

10 Lakh.
Thank You