A Study of the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of Circuit Layouts of Integrated Circuits

• Main Authors: Fan Rung Jung, 范容榕
• Other Authors: Cheng Chia Jui
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/85483205955883673977

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 法律學系 === 103 === Nowadays, applications of Integrated Circuit(IC) and semiconductor chip technologies are wide spread and involve huge economic benefits. Therefore, many countries have enacted laws to properly protect the intellectual properties (IP) of the integrated circuit industry. Basically, the intellectual property rights (IPR) relating to the technologies of integrated circuit include patent, trade secret, copyright, and circuit layout of integrated circuit, wherein the law of circuit layouts of integrated circuits is a sui generis law especially enacted for the integrated circuit technology. After the U.S. has enacted [Protection of Semiconductor Chip Products] (SCPA) in 1984, many countries have followed with similar legislations to protect the circuit layouts of integrated circuits, for example, Japan has enacted [An Act Concerning the Circuit Layout of Semiconductor Chip] on January 1, 1986, Taiwan has enacted a similar law for protecting the circuit layouts of integrated circuits in 1995, and China in 2001. In relation to the Regional Trade Agreements (RTA), European Economic Community (EEC) has published [Council Directive of 16 December 1986 on the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products] on December 16, 1986, while North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) has enacted a law relating to the layout designs of semiconductor integrated circuits at §1710 in NAFTA. In addition, there are international agreements relating to the protection of intellectual property rights of integrated circuits, which include: [Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits] (IPIC) signed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on May 8 to 26, 1989, in Washington, and the [Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights] (TRIPs) of World Trade Organization (WTO), which came into effect on January 1, 1995. Taiwan has enjoyed great successes in the integrated circuit industry and became one of the industry’s leaders. For instance, in terms of the market share of integrated circuit design, Taiwan is placed second in global ranking, losing out only to the U.S., while the integrated circuit foundries of Taiwan and the packaging and testing of integrated circuit industry in Taiwan are both ranked first in the world. Since the Integrated circuit industry is especially suitable for Taiwan, given its small territory and limited natural resources, it is extremely important for Taiwan to maintain its lead in the integrated circuit design and integrated circuit industry. This study hopes to provide the people in the integrated circuit industry a basic understanding of the laws relating to the intellectual property rights of integrated circuits, such as patent and trade secret. The focus of this study will be on the descriptions and analysis of important international treaties, regional agreements, and the laws relating to the circuit layout of the integrated circuits of some individual countries, including USA, Japan, Taiwan, and China, and how such laws are enforced, so that the intricate architecture of the intellectual property laws and the different protection mechanisms available can be appreciated. This way, it is hoped that people in the field of integrated circuit technology may learn to better understand and use the laws relating to the circuit layout of integrated circuits to properly protect their technical advantages and interests.