Section 7
Prohibition of registration of certain layout-designs.
The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000
About this Act
An Act to provide for the protection of semiconductor integrated circuits layout-designs and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
(1) A layout-design--
(a) which is not original; or
(b) which has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country; or
(c) which is not inherently distinctive; or
(d) which is not inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other registered layoutdesign,
shall not be registered as a layout-design:
Provided that a layout-design which has been commercially exploited for not more than two years from the date on which an application for its registration has been filed either in India or in a convention country shall be treated as not having been commercially exploited for the purposes of this sub-section.
(2) A layout-design shall be considered to be original if it is the result of its creator's own intellectual efforts and is not commonly known to the creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits at the time of its creation:
Provided that a layout-design consisting of such combination of elements and interconnections that are commonly known among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits shall be considered as original if such combination taken as a whole is the result of its creator's own intellectual efforts.
(3) Where an original layout-design has been created in execution of a commission or a contract of employment, the right of registration to such layout-design under this Act shall belong, in the absence of any contractual provision to the contrary, to the person who commissioned the work or to the employer.
(a) which is not original; or
(b) which has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country; or
(c) which is not inherently distinctive; or
(d) which is not inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other registered layoutdesign,
shall not be registered as a layout-design:
Provided that a layout-design which has been commercially exploited for not more than two years from the date on which an application for its registration has been filed either in India or in a convention country shall be treated as not having been commercially exploited for the purposes of this sub-section.
(2) A layout-design shall be considered to be original if it is the result of its creator's own intellectual efforts and is not commonly known to the creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits at the time of its creation:
Provided that a layout-design consisting of such combination of elements and interconnections that are commonly known among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits shall be considered as original if such combination taken as a whole is the result of its creator's own intellectual efforts.
(3) Where an original layout-design has been created in execution of a commission or a contract of employment, the right of registration to such layout-design under this Act shall belong, in the absence of any contractual provision to the contrary, to the person who commissioned the work or to the employer.