WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE 
ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights IP/N/IIBHRlLIl 
11 May 2004 
(04-2098) 
Original: English! 
anglaisl 
ingles 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
BAHRAIN 
The present document reproduces the textl of the Draft Law (2001) on Layout-Designs of 
Integrated Circuits, which is under consideration by the competent authorities of the Bahrain Government, 
notified by Bahrain under Article 63.2 of the Agreement by means of a communication from its Delegation 
dated 28 November 2001. 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriete 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
PRINCIP ALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA 
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
BAHREIN 
Le present document contient Ie textel du projet de Loi de 2001 sur les schemas de configuration 
de circuits integres, actuellement examine par les autorites competentes du gouvemement bahre'inite et 
notifie par Bahre'in au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord dans une communication de sa delegation datee du 
28 novembre 2001. 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
PRINCIP ALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL pARRAFO 2 DEL ARTiCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
BAHREIN 
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto 1 del proyecto de Ley de Esquemas de Trazado de 
los Circuitos Integrados de 2001, que esta siendo examinado por las autoridades del Gobiemo y que 
Bahrein ha notificado en virtud del parrafo 2 del articulo 63 del Acuerdo mediante una comunicacion de su 
Delegacion de fecha 28 de noviembre de 2001. 
1 In English only'/En anglais seulement.!En ingles solamente. IP /N/l/BHR/L/l 
Page 2 
DRAFT LAW NO. ----(2001) 
ON LAYOUT -DESIGNS OF INTEGRATED CIRCIDTS 
Article 1 
For the purposes of this Law, "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 anlor on a 
piece of material and which is intended to perform an electronic function. 
In an addition, "layout-design" means the three-dimensional disposition 
prepared for an integrated circuit intended for manufacture. 
Article 2 
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall establish a register to be known 
as the "The Register of Layout-designs of Integrated Circuits", in which are entered 
applications for the registration of data relating to layout-designs; names, addresses 
and certificates of owners; as well as related legal procedures and disposal. 
Procedures for the filing, examination and registration of applications shall be 
determined under the Regulations. 
An application may not contain the registration of more than one single 
layout -design. 
Article 3 
a) Without prejudice to the provisions of international treaties in force in the 
State of Bahrain, any natural person or legal entity being a national of the State of 
Bahrain, from a Member of the World Trade Organization or from a State holding 
reciprocal relations with the State of Bahrain, shall be entitled to apply for the 
protection of a layout design. IP /N/l/BHRlLll 
Page 3 
b) In accordance with the provisions of this Law, protection shall be granted to 
new layout-designs of integrated circuits. 
A layout-design shall be considered as new if it is the result of its creator's 
own intellectual effort and is not commonplace among manufacturers of the related 
industry. A layout-design shall also be considered as new if the combination and 
interconnection of its elements are new even if the components it is composed of are 
commonplace among manufacturers of the related industry. 
An application shall not be accepted if it is filed after the expiration of a period 
oftwo years from the date ofthe first exploitation ofthe layout-design for commercial 
. purposes with the consent of the right holder in the State of Bahrain or abroad. 
Article 4 
(a) The creator of a layout-design, or his successor in title, shall be entitled to 
register it. Where a layout-design is created by many persons, they shall all be equally 
entitled to register it, unless agreed otherwise. Any person whose efforts were limited 
-to assistance in implementing the design without contributing to any inventive step, 
may not be considered as creator. 
(b) Where the layout-design is created by many persons working separately from 
each other, the right for registration shall belong to the first applicant. 
Article 5 
The property of the layout-design shall belong to the employer where the 
creation is the result of fulfillment of a contract or an undertaking with the objective 
of making efforts to achieve a creation, provided that the employer is in a position to 
establish that the employee has achieved the layout -design using resources made 
available to him by the employer. 
The provisions provided for in this Article shall apply to civil servants as well 
as their subordinates. 
In all cases, the name of the creator shall appear in the certificate for the 
property ofthe layout-design. IP INIl IBHRlLI 1 
Page 4 
Article 6 
(a) The owner of the layout-design shall alone be entitled to exploit it for 
commercial purposes. Third parties may not reproduce, whether by incorporation in 
an integrated circuit or otherwise, the protected layout-design in its entirety or any 
new part thereof; nor import, sell or otherwise distribute for commercial purposes a 
layout-design or an integrated circuit in which a layout-design is incorporated, 
without the authorization of the holder of the right. 
(b) Notwithstanding, where any of the acts referred to in paragraph (a) are 
performed by a person who did not know and had no reasonable ground to know, 
when performing such act, that the integrated circuit or article contains a protected 
layout-design, he may, after being notified by the right holder with registered mail and 
acknowledgment of receipt that the integrated circuit or article contains a protected 
layout-design, dispose of the stock of articles in his possession or the articles that he 
ordered to buy against a fair compensation for the right holder. 
Article 7 
Without prejudice to the provisions on protection prescribed under this Law, 
any natural person or legal entity may perform one or more of the following acts 
without the consent of the right holder: 
1. use of a protected layout-design for personal purposes or for the 
purpose of testing, examination, analysis, teaching, training or scientific research; 
where such acts result in the creation of new layout-design, the creator shall be 
entitled to its protection. 
2. creation, through independent efforts, of a layout-design which IS 
identical to another protected layout-design. 
3. importation of a protected layout-design or the integrated circuit 
containing it, separately or incorporated in his articles, or an article which contains an 
integrated circuit containing a protected layout-design, when any of these is circulated 
in the State of Bahrain or abroad. Article 8 IP INIlIBHRlLIl 
Page 5 
Layout-designs of integrated circuits shall be protected for a period of 10 years 
calculated from the filing date in the State of Bahrain, or from date of its first 
exploitation for commercial purposes in the State of Bahrain or abroad, whichever is 
the earliest. 
In all cases, the term of protection for layout-designs shall expire after 15 
years from the date on which it is created. 
Article 9 
Any interested person may request the Supreme Civil Court to order the 
cancellation of the registration of the layout-design if it is established that such 
registration is contrary to the provisions ofthis Law. 
The competent administration shall cancel such registration upon reception of 
a final order for that purpose. 
Article 10 
Property of the layout-design may be transferred, in its entirety or any part 
thereof: with or without compensation, including through inheritance, and it may also 
be mortgaged. No objection may be made against the transfer or mortgage of the 
property of a layout-design prior to its recordal in the appropriate Register, as the case 
maybe. 
The layout-design may also be seized under the law governing civil and 
commercial proceedings in respect of seizure of movables or the creditor's holdings 
by third parties. [sic: The competent administration shall exempt provisions 
concerning the declaration by the party seizing of his property to the party being 
seized]. 
Article 11 
The owner of the layout-design may grant a third party a license for the 
purposes of exploiting the layout-design under a written contract which shall be 
. registered with the competent administration at the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industry. IP IN/I IBHRlLI 1 
Page 6 
Article 12 
The Minister of Commerce and Industry may ISsue a non-exclusive compulsory 
license for the exploitation of a layout design in the following cases: 
a. National emergency or other circumstances of extreme, urgency or for public 
non-commercial use provided that the owner of the layout-design is notified 
as soon as possible after the license is granted. 
b. Where the owner of the layout-design has not made sufficient use of the 
layout-design to the extent that he has failed to satisfy the need of the 
domestic market, at reasonable prices taking into account those prevailing 
internationally, after the lapse of 3 years from the date of the grant of the 
layout-design or 4 years from the date of the filing of the layout-design 
application, whichever is longer. 
In such a situation, the Minister shall have the right to issue a compulsory 
license to any person to whom the layout-design owner has refused to grant 
a license or to whom the owner has imposed unfair commercial terms in 
order to grant him such a license. 
c. Where the owner of the layout-design exercises his rights for anti­
competitive ends. 
Article 13 
The following provisions shall apply to compulsory licenses: 
a. Applications for compulsory licenses shall be considered each upon its own 
merits. 
b. The applicant shall pay the prescribed fee in respect of the application 
c. The license shall be exploited predominantly for the supply of the domestic 
market. IP INIl IBHRlLI 1 
Page 7 
d. The applicant must be capable of effectively exploiting the invention through 
an enterprise existing in the State of Bahrain. 
e. Except in the case referred to under Article I2(a), the license shall only be 
granted if the applicant has made reasonable efforts to obtain a license from 
the layout -design owner on reasonable corrnnercial terms and conditions, and 
that such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time. 
£ The applicant shall agree to limit the exploitation of the invention to the 
purpose, scope, conditions and period for which the license is to be granted. 
g. Authorisation shall only be granted for public non-corrnnercial use or to 
remedy practices determined to be anti-competitive. 
h. The proposed user shall not assign the license except with the enterprise or 
the part thereof relating to the exploitation of the invention and after the 
approval of the Minister ofCorrnnerce and Industry. 
1. The layout-design owner shall be entitled to adequate remuneration taking 
into account the monetary value of the license. The need to remedy anti­
competitive practices, if applicable, may be taken into account in determining 
the remuneration. 
J. The conditions provided for in items ( c) and (e) of this Article shall not apply 
to situations where a license is granted to remedy anti-competitive practices. 
k. The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall ex officio or at the request of 
any interested party has the authority to amend the conditions of a 
compulsory license in case of change in circumstances. 
Article 14 
Except in cases of national emergency and other circumstances of extreme 
urgency as referred to under Article I2(a), the competent Directorate at the Ministry 
of Corrnnerce and Industry shall provide the layout-design owner with a copy of the 
license application. The layout-design owner shall be provided a reasonable 
opportunity to respond in writing to the application. The processing of the application 
shall be in accordance with the procedure specified in the Implementing Regulation. IP IN/IIBHRlLIl 
Page 8 
The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall issue a decision accepting or rejecting 
the application and may grant an acceptance subject to any conditions he deems 
appropriate. In all cases, the Minister shall notify the owner of the layout-design and 
the applicant ofhis decision within 30 days of the issuance of such a decision and the 
competent Directorate shall enter the decision in the register of patents. The decision 
shall also be published in the manner specified in the Implementing Regulation. 
Article 15 
The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall ex officio or at the request of the 
layout-design owner have the authority to terminate the license before the end of its 
term in the following cases: 
a. The circumstances, which led to the granting of the license, have ceased to 
exist and are unlikely to recur. In such case, the legitimate interests of the 
licensee shall be adequately protected in accordance with the terms and 
procedures specified in the Implementing Regulation. 
b. The licensee has not exploited the license for two years from the date of its 
issuance. 
c. The licensee has not complied with any of the conditions of the license or 
has failed to fulfil his 0 bligations under this Law and the related 
Implementing Regulation. 
The decision of the Minister of Commerce and Industry in respect of the 
application for a compulsory license may be challenged based on Article (36) of 
the draft Law which provides: IP /N/l/BHR/L/l 
Page 9 
" Subject to the provisions for challenges provided for under Articles (18) and (19) 
and without prejudice to the provisions of Article (15) of this Law, any interested 
party may submit a petition to the Minister of Commerce and Industry in respect of 
any :final decision issued in accordance with this Law within 30 days of its 
notification to that person. A decision in respect of the petition shall be issued within 
30 days of its submission and the interested party shall be notified of the decision in 
writing within 30 days of its date of issuance. If the interested party is not notified of 
a decision within 60 days of the date of submission of his petition, such petition shall 
be deemed rejected. 
\Vhere a petition has been rejected or deemed rejected, the interested party may 
appeal such rejection before the High Civil Court within 60 days of its notification or 
lapse of the period beyond which the petition is deemed rejected as the case may be. 
An appeal may not be brought before the court until a petition has been filed and a 
decision has been issued or the period for a decision has lapsed". 
Article 16 
(a) The President of the competent court may, upon demand from the interested 
person or pursuant to a request, order one or more of the following measures and any 
other appropriate provisional measures in case of, or to prevent infringement of any 
right provided for under this Law: 
1) Preserving the evidence and establishing an official record and a detailed 
description of goods and products, including imported articles upon their 
arrival, as well as machines and tools used for that purpose; and safeguarding 
the relevant evidence; 
2) undertaking provisional seizure of the objects referred to in the preceding 
paragraph. 
3) Order the alleged infringement to ceaze or prevent it from taking place. 
(b) The request shall be accompanied with sufficient evidence proving that the 
applicant is the right holder and that such right is, or is likely to be, subject to 
infringement. IP /N/1IBHRJLl1 
Page 10 
The President of the court may require from the applicant to provide the 
necessary information to assist the authorities responsible for implementing the 
provisional measure in determining the relevant goods. 
(c) The President of the court may, as appropriate, issue the said order urgently 
without summoning the other party -where any delay in issuing such order is likely to 
cause irrecoverable damage to the applicant or result in the destruction of evidence -
provided that the other party is notified upon issuing that order. This order 
establishing any such measures may include the designation of one or more experts to 
assist in implementation and prescribe the deposit of an appropriate bank or money 
bail for the safeguard against any unfair prejudice deriving from the procedure. The 
person against whom the order is issued may file an appeal with the competent court 
within ten days from the date on which the order is issued or on which he is notified, 
as the case may be. In such case, the court may confirm the order or reject it in full or 
-in part. 
(d) The case concerning the substance of the conflict shall be initiated within 15 
days from the date on which the order is issued, otherwise the measure taken shall be 
void. 
Article 17 
Without prejudice to any more severe sanction provided for under any other 
Law, any person who, knowingly and unlawfully, performs one of the following acts 
shall be punishable by imprisonment for a period of at least three months and not 
exceeding one year and by a fine of at least 500 Dinars and not exceeding 2000 
Dinars or by either one: 
(a) the act of reproducing a protected layout-design without the 
authorization of the right holder; 
(b) the act of selling, distributing or importing a registered layout-design 
or a product in which an integrated circuit is incorporated, without the authorization 
of the right holder. 
The court may prescribe the publication of the order in one or more issues of a 
daily newspaper at the expense of the party against whom the decision is taken. IP IN/lIBHRlLlI 
Page 11 
In case of a second offence, infringement shall be punishable by imprisonment 
for a period -of at least three months and not exceeding two years and a :fine of at least 
500 Dinars and not exceeding 4000 Dinars or by either one, together with the closure 
of the commercial establishment or business or the cease of the activity, as the case 
may be, for a period of at least 15 days and not exceeding six months. Such order 
shall be published in one or more issues of a daily newspaper at the expense of the 
party against whom the decision is taken. 
In case of conviction, the court may order the seizure or destruction of the 
products or goods obtained from the offence, including imported articles upon their 
arrival, as well as the machines and tools used for that purpose. 
In case of discharge, the court may order the seizure or destruction of the 
objects referred to in the preceding paragraph if they have caused any damage or been 
. used to infringe the rights ofthe right holder. 
The General Prosecutor shall initiate sanctions on the offences referred to in 
this Article. 
Article 18 
The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall issue the implementing 
decisions containing detailed provisions concerning the application of this Law, 
particularly: 
1) orgarnzmg the administration for registration of layout-designs and 
maintaining Registers; 
2) determining the fees for recorda!, renewal and copies of extracts, delivering 
certificates as well as detailing the procedures provided for under this Law, as 
appropriate. 
The determination and change of such fees shall be subject to approval of the 
Cabinet. IPIN/1IBHRJLI 1 
Page 12 
Article 19 
The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall promulgate the Rules and 
Regulations necessary for the implementation of this Law. 
Article 20 
Ministers shall, each within their capacity, implement this Law after three 
months from its publication in the Official Gazette.