Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits Act 1999 (No. 3 of 1999)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Article
Part I: Preliminary
Short Title and Commencement.................................... 1
Interpretation................................................................. 2
No Protection for Ideas................................................. 3
Act Binds the Government............................................ 4
Part II: Protection of Layout-Designs
Protected Layout-Designs............................................. 5
Ownership of Layout-Design........................................ 6
Duration of Protection................................................... 7
Part III: Layout-Design Rights and Infringement Action
Rights of Qualified Owner............................................ 8
Infringement.................................................................. 9
Non-Infringing Acts...................................................... 10
Innocent Infringement................................................... 11
Remedies for Infringement........................................... 12
Order for Delivery Up................................................... 13
Order for Disposal......................................................... 14
Presumption of Protection and Ownership.................... 15
Affidavit Evidence........................................................ 16
Groundless Threat of Infringement Proceedings........... 17
Part IV: Dealings with a Layout-Design Right
Assignments and Licences of Layout-Design............... 18
Prospective Ownership of Layout-Design..................... 19
Exclusive Licensee........................................................ 20
Exercise of Concurrent Rights...................................... 21
Part V: Compulsory Licensing
Interpretation of this Part.............................................. 22
Use by Government for Public Non-Commercial Purpose.......................................................................... 23
Scope and Nature of Right Under Section 23................ 24
Duty to Inform Qualified Owner................................... 25
Qualified Owner Entitled to Remuneration................... 26
Licence to Remedy Anti-Competitive Practice............. 27
Scope and Nature of Licence........................................ 28
Court May Determine Licence...................................... 29
Part VI: Miscellaneous
Rules............................................................................. 30
Designation of Qualifying Countries............................ 31
Consequential Amendment........................................... 32
The following Act was passed by Parliament on 20th January 1999 and assented to by the President on 26th January 1999:—
I assent.
Ong Teng Cheong,
President.
26th January 1999.
An Act to provide for the protection of layout-designs of integrated circuits and to make a consequential amendment to the Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of the 1988 Revised Edition).
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:
1. This Act may be cited as the Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits Act 1999 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“commercially exploit” includes—
(a) to sell, let for hire or otherwise distribute by way of trade;
(b) to offer or expose for sale or hire or other distribution by way of trade; or
(c) to import for the purpose of sale, letting for hire or other distribution by way of trade,
and “commercially exploited”, “commercially exploiting” and “commercial exploitation” have corresponding meanings;
“Court” means the High Court;
“creator” , in the case of a computer aided design of a layout-design, means the person who made the arrangements for the creation of the layout-design;
“exclusive licence” means a licence in writing signed by or on behalf of a qualified owner authorising the licensee, to the exclusion of all other persons, including the person granting the licence, to exercise a right that would otherwise be exercisable exclusively by the qualified owner;
“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 on, or in or on, a piece of material and which is intended to perform an electronic function;
“layout-design” means the 3-dimensional disposition, however expressed, of the elements of an integrated circuit (at least one of which is an active element), and of some or all of the interconnections of an integrated circuit, or such a 3-dimensional disposition prepared for an integrated circuit intended for manufacture;
“protected layout-design” means a layout-design that is protected under section 5;
“qualified owner” means—
(a) a qualified person who, under section 6 (1), is the owner of a layout-design; or
(b) a person who, under section 6 (1), is the owner of a layout-design which was not commercially exploited anywhere else in the world before it was commercially exploited in Singapore or in a qualifying country,
and includes a person, whether or not he is a qualified person, who is a successor in title to a qualified owner of the layout-design;
“qualified person” means—
(a) a natural person—
(i) who is a national of, or is domiciled or ordinarily resident in Singapore or in a qualifying country; or
(ii) who has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment for the creation of layout-designs or for the production of integrated circuits in Singapore or in a qualifying country; or
(b) a person other than a natural person—
(i) the place of incorporation or place of formation of which is in Singapore or in a qualifying country; or
(ii) which has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment for the creation of layout-designs or for the production of integrated circuits in Singapore or in a qualifying country,
and includes the Government and the government of a qualifying country;
“qualifying country” means—
(a) a country or territory, other than Singapore, which is a member of the World Trade Organisation; or
(b) a country or territory designated by the Minister under section 31.
(2) A layout-design shall be taken to have been commercially exploited if the layout-design, a copy of the layout-design or an integrated circuit in which the layout-design is incorporated (whether or not the integrated circuit is contained in another article) is commercially exploited.
(3) A reference to doing an act in relation to a layout-design includes a reference to doing that act in relation to a substantial part of the layout-design.
(4) A reference to a copy of a layout-design includes a reference to a copy of a substantial part of the layout-design.
3. This Act shall not apply in relation to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a layout-design.
4. This Act binds the Government.
5.—(1) This Act protects a layout-design that is owned by a qualified owner and—
(a) is original in the sense that it is the result of its creator’s own intellectual effort and is not commonplace among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation; or
(b) in the case of a layout-design that consists of a combination of elements and interconnections that are commonplace, the combination, taken as a whole, is original in the sense that it is the result of its creator’s own intellectual effort and is not commonplace among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation.
(2) Act protects all independently created layout-designs referred to in subsection (1), even if they are identical and, subject to section 7, regardless of when they are, on or after the commencement of this Act, created.
(3) This Act does not protect a layout-design that is created before the commencement of this Act.
(4) A layout-design shall be deemed not to have been created until it has been recorded in documentary form or incorporated into an integrated circuit, whichever is earlier.
6.—(1) Subject to any agreement to the contrary, the owner of a layout-design shall be determined as follows:
(a) where the layout-design is not created in pursuance of a commission or in the course of employment, the creator of a layout-design is the owner;
(b) where the layout-design is created in pursuance of a commission, the person who commissioned the layout-design is the owner; and
(c) where the layout-design is not created in pursuance of a commission but is created by an employee in the course of his employment, the employer is the owner.
(2) A qualified person can be a qualified owner even if he shares ownership with a person who is not a qualified person.
(3) Where a layout-design is owned by more than one person, references in the Act to the owner are to all the owners and references in the Act to the qualified owner are to all the qualified owners so that in particular, any requirement of the consent of a qualified owner requires the consent of all the qualified owners.
7. A layout-design ceases to be a protected layout-design—
(a) if it is first commercially exploited within 5 calendar years after the calendar year in which it was created, at the end of the tenth calendar year after the calendar year in which it was first commercially exploited;
(b) in any other case, at the end of the period of 15 calendar years after the calendar year in which it was created.
8. A qualified owner has the following rights:
(a) to copy, and to authorise the copying of, all or part of his protected layout-design, whether by incorporation into an integrated circuit or otherwise;
(b) to commercially exploit, and to authorise the commercial exploitation of, his protected layout-design.
9. Subject to the provisions of this Act, it is an infringement of a qualified owner’s right in a protected layout-design for any person to do any of the acts referred to in section 8 without the consent of the qualified owner.
10. It is not an infringement of a qualified owner’s right in a protected layout-design—
(a) if the copying is of any part of a protected layout-design that does not comply with the requirement of originality referred to in section 5 (1);
(b) if the copying is done for a private purpose and not for the purpose of commercial exploitation;
(c) if the copying is done for the sole purpose of evaluation, analysis, research or teaching;
(d) to use the results of such evaluation, analysis or research to create a different layout-design that complies with the requirement of originality referred to in section 5 (1);
(e) to do any of the acts referred to in section 8 in respect of the layout-design referred to in paragraph (d
Article
Part I: Preliminary
Short Title and Commencement.................................... 1
Interpretation................................................................. 2
No Protection for Ideas................................................. 3
Act Binds the Government............................................ 4
Part II: Protection of Layout-Designs
Protected Layout-Designs............................................. 5
Ownership of Layout-Design........................................ 6
Duration of Protection................................................... 7
Part III: Layout-Design Rights and Infringement Action
Rights of Qualified Owner............................................ 8
Infringement.................................................................. 9
Non-Infringing Acts...................................................... 10
Innocent Infringement................................................... 11
Remedies for Infringement........................................... 12
Order for Delivery Up................................................... 13
Order for Disposal......................................................... 14
Presumption of Protection and Ownership.................... 15
Affidavit Evidence........................................................ 16
Groundless Threat of Infringement Proceedings........... 17
Part IV: Dealings with a Layout-Design Right
Assignments and Licences of Layout-Design............... 18
Prospective Ownership of Layout-Design..................... 19
Exclusive Licensee........................................................ 20
Exercise of Concurrent Rights...................................... 21
Part V: Compulsory Licensing
Interpretation of this Part.............................................. 22
Use by Government for Public Non-Commercial Purpose.......................................................................... 23
Scope and Nature of Right Under Section 23................ 24
Duty to Inform Qualified Owner................................... 25
Qualified Owner Entitled to Remuneration................... 26
Licence to Remedy Anti-Competitive Practice............. 27
Scope and Nature of Licence........................................ 28
Court May Determine Licence...................................... 29
Part VI: Miscellaneous
Rules............................................................................. 30
Designation of Qualifying Countries............................ 31
Consequential Amendment........................................... 32
The following Act was passed by Parliament on 20th January 1999 and assented to by the President on 26th January 1999:—
I assent.
Ong Teng Cheong,
President.
26th January 1999.
An Act to provide for the protection of layout-designs of integrated circuits and to make a consequential amendment to the Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of the 1988 Revised Edition).
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:
1. This Act may be cited as the Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits Act 1999 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“commercially exploit” includes—
(a) to sell, let for hire or otherwise distribute by way of trade;
(b) to offer or expose for sale or hire or other distribution by way of trade; or
(c) to import for the purpose of sale, letting for hire or other distribution by way of trade,
and “commercially exploited”, “commercially exploiting” and “commercial exploitation” have corresponding meanings;
“Court” means the High Court;
“creator” , in the case of a computer aided design of a layout-design, means the person who made the arrangements for the creation of the layout-design;
“exclusive licence” means a licence in writing signed by or on behalf of a qualified owner authorising the licensee, to the exclusion of all other persons, including the person granting the licence, to exercise a right that would otherwise be exercisable exclusively by the qualified owner;
“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 on, or in or on, a piece of material and which is intended to perform an electronic function;
“layout-design” means the 3-dimensional disposition, however expressed, of the elements of an integrated circuit (at least one of which is an active element), and of some or all of the interconnections of an integrated circuit, or such a 3-dimensional disposition prepared for an integrated circuit intended for manufacture;
“protected layout-design” means a layout-design that is protected under section 5;
“qualified owner” means—
(a) a qualified person who, under section 6 (1), is the owner of a layout-design; or
(b) a person who, under section 6 (1), is the owner of a layout-design which was not commercially exploited anywhere else in the world before it was commercially exploited in Singapore or in a qualifying country,
and includes a person, whether or not he is a qualified person, who is a successor in title to a qualified owner of the layout-design;
“qualified person” means—
(a) a natural person—
(i) who is a national of, or is domiciled or ordinarily resident in Singapore or in a qualifying country; or
(ii) who has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment for the creation of layout-designs or for the production of integrated circuits in Singapore or in a qualifying country; or
(b) a person other than a natural person—
(i) the place of incorporation or place of formation of which is in Singapore or in a qualifying country; or
(ii) which has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment for the creation of layout-designs or for the production of integrated circuits in Singapore or in a qualifying country,
and includes the Government and the government of a qualifying country;
“qualifying country” means—
(a) a country or territory, other than Singapore, which is a member of the World Trade Organisation; or
(b) a country or territory designated by the Minister under section 31.
(2) A layout-design shall be taken to have been commercially exploited if the layout-design, a copy of the layout-design or an integrated circuit in which the layout-design is incorporated (whether or not the integrated circuit is contained in another article) is commercially exploited.
(3) A reference to doing an act in relation to a layout-design includes a reference to doing that act in relation to a substantial part of the layout-design.
(4) A reference to a copy of a layout-design includes a reference to a copy of a substantial part of the layout-design.
3. This Act shall not apply in relation to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated or embodied in a layout-design.
4. This Act binds the Government.
5.—(1) This Act protects a layout-design that is owned by a qualified owner and—
(a) is original in the sense that it is the result of its creator’s own intellectual effort and is not commonplace among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation; or
(b) in the case of a layout-design that consists of a combination of elements and interconnections that are commonplace, the combination, taken as a whole, is original in the sense that it is the result of its creator’s own intellectual effort and is not commonplace among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation.
(2) Act protects all independently created layout-designs referred to in subsection (1), even if they are identical and, subject to section 7, regardless of when they are, on or after the commencement of this Act, created.
(3) This Act does not protect a layout-design that is created before the commencement of this Act.
(4) A layout-design shall be deemed not to have been created until it has been recorded in documentary form or incorporated into an integrated circuit, whichever is earlier.
6.—(1) Subject to any agreement to the contrary, the owner of a layout-design shall be determined as follows:
(a) where the layout-design is not created in pursuance of a commission or in the course of employment, the creator of a layout-design is the owner;
(b) where the layout-design is created in pursuance of a commission, the person who commissioned the layout-design is the owner; and
(c) where the layout-design is not created in pursuance of a commission but is created by an employee in the course of his employment, the employer is the owner.
(2) A qualified person can be a qualified owner even if he shares ownership with a person who is not a qualified person.
(3) Where a layout-design is owned by more than one person, references in the Act to the owner are to all the owners and references in the Act to the qualified owner are to all the qualified owners so that in particular, any requirement of the consent of a qualified owner requires the consent of all the qualified owners.
7. A layout-design ceases to be a protected layout-design—
(a) if it is first commercially exploited within 5 calendar years after the calendar year in which it was created, at the end of the tenth calendar year after the calendar year in which it was first commercially exploited;
(b) in any other case, at the end of the period of 15 calendar years after the calendar year in which it was created.
8. A qualified owner has the following rights:
(a) to copy, and to authorise the copying of, all or part of his protected layout-design, whether by incorporation into an integrated circuit or otherwise;
(b) to commercially exploit, and to authorise the commercial exploitation of, his protected layout-design.
9. Subject to the provisions of this Act, it is an infringement of a qualified owner’s right in a protected layout-design for any person to do any of the acts referred to in section 8 without the consent of the qualified owner.
10. It is not an infringement of a qualified owner’s right in a protected layout-design—
(a) if the copying is of any part of a protected layout-design that does not comply with the requirement of originality referred to in section 5 (1);
(b) if the copying is done for a private purpose and not for the purpose of commercial exploitation;
(c) if the copying is done for the sole purpose of evaluation, analysis, research or teaching;
(d) to use the results of such evaluation, analysis or research to create a different layout-design that complies with the requirement of originality referred to in section 5 (1);
(e) to do any of the acts referred to in section 8 in respect of the layout-design referred to in paragraph (d