WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/CHN/L/1
8 July 2002
(02-3793)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
CHINA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Regulations on the Protection of Layout-
Designs of Integrated Circuits, as notified by China under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see
document IP/N/1/CHN/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
CHINE
Le présent document contient le texte1 du Règlement sur la protection des schémas de
configuration de circuits intégrés, qui a été notifié par la Chine au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord
(voir le document IP/N/1/CHN/1).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de PropiedadIntelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
CHINA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 de los Reglamentos sobre la protección de
esquemas de trazado de circuitos integrados, que China ha notificado en virtud de lo dispuesto en elpárrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el documento IP/N/1/CHN/1).
                                                     
1 In English only.  The text in the original language will be available for consultation by interested
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat./En anglais seulemen t.  Les délégations intéressées pourront consulter le
texte, dans sa langue d'origine, au Secrétariat de l'OM C./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas
podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en su idioma original.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 2
REGULATIONS ON THE PROTEC TION OF LAYOUT-DESIGNS
OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
(Adopted at the 36th Executive Meeting of the State Council on March 28, 2001, promulgated by
Decree No. 300 of the State Council of the People ’s Republic of China on April 2001, and effective as
of the date of October 1, 2001)
Chapter I
General Provisions
Article 1.  These Regulations are formulated in order to protect the exclusive right of layout-design of
integrated circuits, to encourage innovation of integrated circuits technology and to promote the
development of science and technology.
Article 2.  For the purposes of these Regulations:
(1) “integrated circuit” means semiconductor integrated circuit, that is, a product, in its intermediate
or final form, which uses semiconductor material as its chip, in and/or on which two or more
elements, at least one of which is an active element, and some or all of the interconnections are
integrally formed and which is intended to perform a certain electronic function;
(2) “layout-design of integrated circuit” (hereinafter referred to as layout-design) means the three-
dimensional disposition of the two or more elements, at least one of which is an active element, and
some or all of the interconnections of an integrated  circuit, or such a three-dimensional disposition
prepared for the manufacture of an integrated circuit;
(3) “holder of the right of layout-design” means the natural person, the legal person or any other
organization that, according to these Regulations, is entitled to the exclusive right of a layout-design;
(4) “reproduction” means the act of reproducing a layout-design or of reproducing an integrated
circuit incorporating the layout-design;
(5) “commercial exploitation” means the act of importing, selling or otherwise distributing for
commercial purposes a protected layout-design, or an  integrated circuit incorporating such a layout-
design, or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit.
Article 3.  Any layout-design created by a Chinese natural person, legal person or other organization
shall be eligible for the exclusive right of layout-design in accordance with these Regulations.
Any layout-design created by a foreigner shall, where it is first commercially exploited in the territory
of the People’s Republic of China, be eligible for the exclusive right of layout-design in accordance
with these Regulations.
Any layout-design created by a foreigner shall be eligible for the exclusive right of layout-design in
accordance with these Regulations, if the country to which the foreigner belongs has concluded an
agreement with China to protect layout-designs or both the country to which the foreigner belongs and
China are party to an international treaty concerning the protection of layout-designs.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 3
Article 4.  Any layout-design which is to be protected shall be original in the sense that the layout-
design is the result of the creator’s own intellectual effort, and it is not commonplace among creators
of layout-designs and manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation.
Where a layout-design which is to be protected consists of several commonplace layout-designs, the
combination of these layout-designs taken as a whole shall be in compliance with the requirements
referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Article 5.  The protection of layout-designs under these Regulations shall not extend to ideas,
procedures, methods of operations or  mathematical concepts as such.
Article 6.  The intellectual property administration department of the State Council is responsible for
the relevant administrative work concerning the exclusive right of layout-design in accordance with
these Regulations.
Chapter II
Exclusive right of Layout-design
Article 7.  The holder of the right of layout-design shall enjoy the following exclusive right:
(1) reproducing a protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof that complies with the
requirement of originality;
(2) commercially exploiting a protected layout-design, an integrated circuit incorporating a protected
layout-design, or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit.
Article 8.  The exclusive right of layout-design is acquired after its being registered with the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council.
Any unregistered layout-design shall not be protected under these Regulations.Article 9.  The exclusive right of layout-design shall belong to its creator, except as otherwise
prescribed in these Regulations.
Where a layout-design is created according to the will and under the charge of a legal person or other
organization, which shall bear responsibility for such layout-design, that legal person or other
organization shall be the creator.
Where a layout-design is created by a natural person, that person shall be the creator.Article 10.  Where a layout-design is created jointly by two or more natural persons, legal persons or
other organizations, the ownership of the exclusive right shall be agreed upon by the joint creators; in
the absence of such an agreement or where the agreement is not clear, the exclusive right shall be
owned jointly by the creators.
Article 11.  Where a layout-design is created in execution of a commission, the ownership of the
exclusive right shall be agreed upon by the person having commissioned and the person being
commissioned; in the absence of such an agreement or where the agreement is not clear, the exclusive
right shall be owned by the person being commissioned.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 4
Article 12.  The term of protection of the exclusive right of layout-design shall be 10 years counted
from the date of filing an application for registration or from the date on which it was first
commercially exploited anywhere in the world, whichever expires earlier. However, no matter
whether it has been registered or commercially ex ploited, a layout-design shall no longer be protected
under these Regulations 15 years after the date of the completion of its creation.
Article 13.  Where the exclusive right of layout-design belongs to a natural person, the exclusive right
shall, after the death of the natural person and within the term of protection as prescribed in these
Regulations, be transferred in accordance with the provisions of the Succession Law.
Where the exclusive right of a layout-design belongs to a legal person or other organization, the
exclusive right shall, after the legal person or other organization is reorganized or ceases to exist andwithin the term of protection as prescribed in these Regulations, be owned by the legal person or other
organization which succeeds to its rights and obligations; where there is no such legal person or other
organization to succeed to its rights and obligations, the layout-design shall enter into the public
domain.
Chapter III
Registration of Layout-Design
Article 14.  The intellectual property administration department of the State Council is responsible for
the registration of layout-design and receives applications for layout-design registration.
Article 15.  Where a layout-design for which registration is applied relates to the security or other vital
interests of the State and is required to be kept secret, the application shall be handled in accordance
with the relevant provisions of the State.
Article 16.  Where an application for registration of layout-design is filed, the following shall be
submitted:
(1) an application form for registration of layout-design;(2) a copy or drawing of the layout-design;
(3) where the layout-design has been put into commercial exploitation, a sample of that integrated
circuit incorporating the layout-design;
(4) other materials required by the intellectual property administration department of the State
Council.
Article 17.  Any layout-design, if no application for its registration has been filed with the intellectual
property administration department of the State Council within two years from the date on which it
was first commercially exploited anywhere in the world, shall no longer be registered by the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council.
Article 18.  Where, after preliminary examination of an application for registration of layout-design, it
is found that there is no cause for rejection of the application, the intellectual property administration
department of the State Council shall register it, issue the registration certificate and announce it.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 5
Article 19.  Where the applicant for layout-design registration is not satisfied with the decision of the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council rejecting its or his application for
registration, it or he may, within three months fro m the date of receipt of the notification, request the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council to make a reexamination. The
intellectual property administration department of the State Council shall, after reexamination, make adecision and notify the applicant for layout-desig n registration. Where the applicant for layout-design
registration is still not satisfied with the decision of reexamination of the intellectual property
administration department of the State Council, it or he may, within three months from the date of
receipt of the notification, bring a law suit before the people’s court.
Article 20.  Where, after the registration of a layout-design, the intellectual property administration
department of the State Council finds that the registration does not comply with the provisions ofthese Regulations, it shall revoke the registration, notify the holder of the right of layout-design and
announce it. Where the holder of the right of layout-design is not satisfied with the decision of the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council revoking the registration of
layout-design, it or he may, within three months from receipt of the notification, bring a law suit
before the people’s court.
Article 21.  Until the announcement of the layout-design registration, staff members of the intellectual
property administration department of the State Council have the duty to keep its contents secret.
Chapter IV
Exercise of Exclusive Right of Layout-Design
Article 22.  The holder of the right of layout-design may assign its or his exclusive right or give other
persons a license to exploit its or his layout-design.
Where the exclusive right of layout-design is assigned, the parties concerned shall conclude a written
contract and register it with the intellectual property administration department of the State Council.
The intellectual property administration department of the State Council shall announce the
registration. The assignment of the exclusive right of layout-design shall take effect as of the date of
registration.
Where a license to exploit a layout-design is given to others, the parties shall conclude a written
contract.
Article 23.  Any of the following acts may be performed without the authorization of the holder of the
right of layout-design and without any payment of remuneration:
(1) reproducing a protected layout-design for private purposes or for the sole purpose of evaluation,
analysis, research or teaching;
(2)creating a layout-design with originality on the basis of the evaluation or analysis of a protected
layout-design referred to in the preceding sub-paragraph;
(3)reproducing or commercially exploiting a layout-design that is identical with the layout-design of
another person but is created independently by oneself.
Article 24.  Where a protected layout-design, an integrated circuit incorporating such a layout-design,
or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit has been put on the market by, or with the
consent of, the holder of the right of layout-design, anyone may exploit it for commercial purposes
without the authorization of, nor payment of remune ration to, the holder of the right of layout-design.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 6
Article 25.  In the case of a national emergency, or in any extraordinary state of affairs, or for the
purposes of public interests, or where it is determined according to the law by the people’s court or
the supervision and inspection department against unfair competition that there is unfair competition
on the part of the holder of the right of layout-design and there is a need to give remedy, the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council may grant a non-voluntary licenseto exploit the layout-design.
Article 26.  Any decision made by the intellectual property administration department of the State
Council granting a non-voluntary license to exploit a layout-design shall be notified promptly to the
holder of the right of layout-design.
In the decision granting a non-voluntary license to exploit a layout-design, the scope and duration of
the exploitation shall be specified on the basis of the reasons justifying the grant. The scope shall be
limited to non-commercial use for public purposes, or to remedy an act of the holder of the right of
layout-design determined according to the law by th e people’s court or the supervision and inspection
department against unfair competition to be one of unfair competition.
When the circumstances which led to such non-voluntary license cease to exist and are unlikely to
recur, the intellectual property administration depart ment of the State Council shall, after reviewing
upon the request of the holder of the right of layout-design, make a decision to terminate the non-
voluntary license.
Article 27.  Any natural person, legal person or other organization that is granted a non-voluntary
license to exploit a layout-design shall not have an exclusive right to exploit it and shall not have the
right to authorize exploitation by any other person.
Article 28. Any natural person, legal person or other organization that is granted a non-voluntary
license shall pay to the holder of the right of layout-design a reasonable remuneration, the amount of
which shall be fixed by both parties in consultations; where the parties fail to reach an agreement, the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council shall make an adjudication.
Article 29.  Where the holder of the right of layout-design is not satisfied with the decision of the
intellectual property administration department of  the State Council granting a non-voluntary license
to exploit the layout-design, or where the holder of the right of layout-design or, the natural person,legal person or other organization that is granted the non-voluntary license is not satisfied with the
ruling made by the intellectual property administration department of the State Council regarding the
remuneration payable for exploitation, it or he may, within three months from the date of receipt of
notification, bring a law suit before the people’s court.
Chapter V
Legal Liability
Article 30.  Except as otherwise prescribed in these Regulations, where any person commits any of the
following acts without the authorization of the holde r of the right of layout-design, he or it must stop
the acts immediately and bear liability to compensate for the damage:
(1) reproducing a protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof that complies with the
requirement of originality;
(2) importing, selling, or otherwise distributing fo r commercial purposes a protected layout-design, an
integrated circuit incorporating such a layout-desig n, or an article incorporating such an integrated
circuit.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 7
The amount of compensation for the damage caused by an infringement of the exclusive right of
layout-design shall be the profits which the infringer has earned through the infringement or the losses
suffered by the person whose right was infringed, including the reasonable expenses paid by the
infringed person for the purposes of stopping the infringement.
Article 31.  Where a dispute arises as a result of the exploitation of a layout-design without the
authorization of the holder of the right of layout-design, that is, the infringement of the exclusive right
of layout-design, it shall be settled through consultation by the parties concerned. Where the parties
are not willing to consult with each other or where the consultation fails, the holder of the right of
layout-design or any interested party may bring a law suit before the people’s court, or request the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council to handle the matter. When the
intellectual property administration department of the State Council handling the matter considers thatthe infringement is established, it may order the in fringer to stop the infringing act immediately, and
confiscate or destroy the infringing products or articles. If the party concerned is not satisfied with the
decision, he may, within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification, bring a law suit before
the people’s court in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of
China. If, within the said time limit, the infringe r does not institute legal proceedings and refuses to
stop the infringing act, the intellectual property administration department of the State Council may
apply to the people’s court for compulsory enfo rcement. The intellectual property administration
department of the State Council may, upon the request of the parties, mediate in the amount of
compensation for the damage caused by the infringement of the exclusive right of layout-design. If
the mediation fails, the parties may bring a law su it before the people’s court in accordance with the
Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 32.  Where any holder of the right of layout-design or interested party has evidence to prove
that another person is infringing or will soon infringe its or his exclusive right and that if such
infringing act is not checked or prevented from occurr ing in time, it is likely to cause irreparable harm
to its or his `legitimate rights, it or he may, before any legal proceedings are instituted, request the
people’s court to adopt measures for ordering the suspension of relevant acts and the preservation of
property.
Article 33.  Where any person commercially exploits an integrated circuit which is incorporated an
unlawfully reproduced layout-design, or an article which is incorporated an integrated circuit with
unlawfully reproduced layout-design, and if at the time of acquiring the said integrated circuit orarticle, that person did not know and had no reasonab le ground to know that the said integrated circuit
incorporated an unlawfully reproduced layout-design, or the said article incorporated an integrated
circuit with unlawfully reproduced layout-design, the commercial exploitation of such integrated
circuit or article by that person shall not be deemed as infringing the right of layout design.
After being notified that the integrated circuit or the article is incorporated with an unlawfully-
reproduced layout-design, the person referred to in the preceding paragraph may, subject to payment
of reasonable remuneration to the holder of the right of layout-design, continue to commercially
exploit the stock on hand or ordered before the notification.
Article 34.  Where any staff member of the intellectual property administration department of the
State Council, in the work of layout-design administration, neglects his duty, abuses his power or
commits illegalities for personal gains or by fraudulent means shall be investigated for criminal
liability in accordance with law if a crime is consti tuted, if the case is not serious enough to constitute
a crime, he shall be given administrative sanction in accordance with law.IP/N/1/CHN/L/1
Page 8
Chapter VI
Supplementary Provisions
Article 35.  When applying for layout-design registration and going through other formalities, fees
shall be paid as prescribed. The standard of the fees shall be fixed by the price administrationdepartment of the State Council and the intellectual property administration department of the State
Council, and shall be announced by the intellectual property administration department of the State
Council.
Article 36.  These Regulations shall enter into force as of October 1, 2001.
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