Semiconductor topographies

The protection of the unique lay-out of a semiconductor product (chip or IC) falls under the ‘chip right’. In the Netherlands this right has been laid down in the Legal Protection of Original Topographies of Semiconductor Products Act. This act was introduced in the Netherlands back in 1987 after the example of the American 'Semiconductor Chip Protection Act'. The act grants designers the exclusive right to manufacture, sell, import and stock the product with the topography or the topography itself.

Semiconductors

A semiconductor product (chip or IC) is an electronic circuit onto a carrier of semiconductor material. This circuit consists of a number of building blocks such as transistors, resistors, condensers etc. The function of the semiconductor product follows from the layout of the electronic circuit: the placing of building blocks and their mutual connections determine the function of the semiconductor product. For certain products designers will usually have a certain level of freedom in designing the chips’ lay-outs, which usually makes them unique.

Filing

The chip right follows from filing which means submitting a request including the details of the unique lay-out. Nederlandsch Octrooibureau will be happy to arrange matters for you. The application should include drawings that represent the chip’s lay-out. These drawings are usually copies of the mask patterns used to produce the chip. The applicant may include chip samples. Also, he may add information about the first moment of use.