Technology is a big part of all our lives, and it has come to a point where we can't live without it. The basic fundamental of our modern technology is the microchip. As microchips have gotten smaller our technology has progressed. Just compare today's flat screen televisions and computer monitors to those a few years ago. We have become a culture that is very much dependant upon their technology and as the technology progresses and the microchips and circuit boards get smaller the more complex the layout and designs have to be.
This is where integrated circuit topography comes in. Essentially it is the way an electronic integrated circuit is configured and interconnected. These layouts and designs are so compelx that they are actually protected protected by Canadian law and fall under the Integrated Circuit Topography Act. The Act was passed on May 1st, 1993 in an attempt to protect Canadian innovations both nationally and internationally. Although there were only 38 registrations under the Act between in it's first 6 years, the Integrated Circuit Topography Act was developed for the need to regulate the intellectual property of integrated circuit topographies while providing exclusive rights for the creator of the integrated circuit topography. The agency responsible for integrated circuit topographies falls under the responsibility of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or CIPO. They are also responsible for other types of intellectual property as well, including:
In order to have any kind of rights under the Act the owner of an integrated circuit topography is first required to register the integrated circuit. The owner of the integrated circuit topography has to meet a few requirements before they will be accepted. Mainly they have to be a Canadian Citizen and the application has to be received by CIPO before the expiry time period, which is no later than two years after the integrated circuit topography's first commercial use.
The following is a basic breakdown of the Integrated Circuit Topography Act:
The Act provides protection:
(1) to owners by providing the exclusive rights:
(i) to exclude others from reproducing the integrated circuit topography
(ii) to exclude others from manufacturing a product including the integrated circuit topography
(iii) to exclude others from importing or commercially exploiting the integrated circuit topography
(2) for up to 10 years for a registered integrated circuit topography.
However, there are three exceptions to the Integrated Circuit Topography Act:
(1) Once the owner has given authorization to another party to use the integrated circuit topography in a product for commercial use the owner no longer has any statutory right to control its use, rental, resale or redistribution.
(2) Copying of a protected topography for the purposes of analysis, evaluation, research or teaching is allowed under the Act.
(3) Reverse engineering of the integrated circuit topography is also permitted under the Act.
Please note that this article is solely an informational piece on the basic requirements and protections under the Integrated Circuit Topography Act. For specific information it is advised to contact the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or a lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Rights.
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