Unofficial translation  
The Law of Ukraine  
On amending certain legislative acts of Ukraine to improve protection of rights to 
topographies of semiconductor products  
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decrees : 
I. To amend the following legislative acts of Ukraine : 
1. Civil Code of Ukraine  (Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine , 2003 , №№ 40 -44, p. 356):  
1) Paragraph  nine of the  part one of the  Article 420  shall be laid out in the following wording : 
“topographies  of semiconductor products” ; 
2) in the name  and in the text of chapter 40 words “integrated microcircuits” replace by wording 
“semiconductor products”;  
3) in the second part of article 472 words “depictions” and “carrier ” replace by wordings “set of 
related depictions”  and “carrier”  
4)  the second part of article 475 should be laid out in the following wordings:  
 "2. The validity  period  of exclusive  intellectual  property  rights  to topographies  of a 
semiconductor product expires in ten years after the earliest of the following dates : 
expiratio n of the calendar  year in which the topographies  was first used commercially anywhere 
in the world ;  
expiration  of the calendar  year in which  a duly completed application for state registration was 
filed. 
2. In the Law of Ukraine “ On the Protection of Righ ts to Integrated Microcircuit 
Topographies? Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 1998, № 8, art. 28 with following 
replacements):  
1) The name, preamble and  the Article 1 shall be laid out in the following wordings : 
“On the protection  of rights  to topographies  of semiconductor products” ; 
This Law regulates  relationships  arising  in connection  with the accrual  and dispensation  of rights  
to topography  of semiconductor products in Ukraine . 
Article 1. Definition of terms  
 
For the purposes of this Law, the terms mentioned below are used with the following meanings :  
 
1) Author  — an individual  whose  intellectual  or creative  work  created  a topography ;  
 
2) Appellate  Chamber — the Institution’s collegiate body reviewing objections to the 
Institution’s decisi ons regarding accrual of rights to intellectual property and other matters 
included by this Law to the scope of its competence ; 
 
3) Bulletin — the Institution’s official electronic bulletin ; 
 4) topography ’s first use date — a date when  the use of a topography  became  known  in 
microelectronics  industry ; 
 
5) state system  for legal  protection  of intellectual  property  — the Institution  and the set of 
expert , research , educational , information  and other  appropriately  specialized  public  
establishments  falling  within  the scope  of the Institution ’s administration ; 
 
6) expertise  establishment  — a public  establishment  (enterprise , organization ) authorized by 
the Institution to review and examine applications ; 
 
7) registered  topography  —  a topography  filed in the Register  and having  a certificate  issued  
for it; 
 
8) application — a package  of documents  required  for registration  of a topography  and issuance 
of a certificate ;  
 
9) applicant — a person  filing  an application  for registration  of a topography  or otherwise 
accruing the rights of an applicant according to the procedure provided by law;  
 
10) commercial  use: sale, rental , lease  or any other method of commercial dissemination or offer 
for these purposes ; 
 
11) topography  of a semiconductor  product  (topograp hy): a set of related  images , fixed  or coded  
in a certain  way and representing  a three -dimensional configuration of layers from which a 
semiconductor  product  consists and in which every image contains a configuration or part of 
configuration of a semicondu ctor product at any stage of its manufacture ; 
 
12) semiconductor  product : the final or interim  form  of any device , consisting  of the material  
base that includes  a layer  of semiconducting  material , has one or more  layers  consisting  of 
conducting , insulating or semiconducting material and placed one against another according 
to a designated three -dimensional model, and intended for operation, exclusively or in 
combination with other functions, as an electronic circuit ; 
 
13)  register  — the electronic  State Register  of Semiconductor Product Topographies  of 
Ukraine ;  
 
14)  employer : a person  hiring  an employee  under  employment  contract ;  
 
15)  person — natural or legal person ; 
 
16)  certificate  — a document  confirming registration by the Institution of a topography  and 
certifying the authorship of and rights to the same topography ;  
 
17) Institution  — the central  body  of executive  power responsible for implementation of the 
national policy on intellectual propert y.  
 
2) part 3 of the paragraph 1of the article 2 shall be laid out in such wordings:  
“issues  and facilitates  state registration  of certificates  to c topographie s”; 
3) article 2-1 shall be supplemented with wordings:  
Article  21. International  treaties  Unless  an international  treaty  of Ukraine  ratified  by the Verkhovna  Rada  of Ukraine  sets out 
rules  different  from  rules  provided  by the Ukrainian  Law on topography  of semiconductor products , 
the rules of international treaties shall apply . 
4) Article 3 shall be laid out in such wordings : 
“Article 3. Rights and duties of foreign and other persons   
 
1. Under  international  treaties  of Ukraine  ratified  by the Verkhovna  Rada  of Ukraine , foreign  
and stateless  persons  have  equal  rights  provided  by this Law with Ukrainian  persons . 
2. Foreign  and other  persons  permanently  residing  or permanently  staying  outside  Ukraine  
shall  exercise  their rights  in the relationship  with the Institution  via representatives  for intellectual  
property  affairs  (patent attorneys ) registered according to a provision approved by the  central  body  
of executive  power responsible for formation of the national policy on intellectual property”;  
5) the name of Section shall be laid out in such wording:  
Section II 
Legal protection of semiconductor product topographies ; 
6)  in Article 4 : 
The wordings “IMC topography” is excluded;  
 
Para 3 shall be laid out in such wording :  
3. The accrual  of rights to a topography  is certified by a certificate . A certificate  is valid  during  
ten years  from the earliest of the following dates : 
Expiration  of the calendar  year in which the topography  was first used commercially anywhere 
in the world ;  
Expiration  of the calendar  year in which  a duly completed application for state registration was 
filed.  
Registration may be terminated early in the event of invalidation of this registration in 
accordan ce with Article 20 of this Law .  
In para 4 word “depiction ” shall  be replaced  by wordings  the “set of related depictions” ; 
7) in the Article  5: 
Para 2 shall be laid out in such wordings : 
"2. A topography  is considered  original , if it was not created  by direct  reproduction  (copying ) 
of another  topography  and was not known to microelectronics industry prior to the date of filing 
application with the Institution or the date of its first use "; 
In the first sentence  of the para 4 words  “IMC  topography ” replac e by the word  “topography ”; 
Para 5 shall be laid out in such wordings : 
"5. A topography  for which  a registration  application  was filed with the Institution  more  than 
two years  after the date of its first use cannot  be considered  original  "; 
8) in the Article   6: 
In para 1 wordings : “The IMC  topography  registration  right  belongs  to the author  or the 
author ’s successor ” replace  by wordings  “ Unless  otherwise  provided  by this Law,  the topography  
registration  right  belongs  to the author  or the author ’s successor” ; 
Para 4 shall be laid out in such wordings : “4. If an agreement  on topography  of authors  is revised , the Institution , based on the joint 
request by persons stated in the application as the authors  and authors not mentioned in the 
application as such , will amend the relevant documents according to the procedure provided by the 
central  body  of executive  power  responsible  for formation  of the national  policy  on intellectual  
property ”; 
9) in the Article 7: 
In para 1 words “or employer’s successor  "exclude ; 
In para  2: 
If the employer  does not file an application  with the Institution  or does not classify  the 
topography  as confidential  information  (in which  case, the employer is required to notify the author 
in writing about it ) within four months after receiving the author’s written notice , the topography  
registration  right shall pass to the author ; 
11) in the  Article 9: 
Para 1 supplement  with the wordings :  
“An application may be filed in paper or electronic form at the applicant’s choice .   
Electronic  applications  are processed  in accordance  with the law regulating  electronic  
documents  and electronic  document  flow, this Law and the rules  set by the central  body  of 
executive  power  responsible  for formation  of the national  policy  on intellectual  property . Electronic  
applications  may be filed upon  identification  of the applicant  (applicant ’s representative  for 
intellectual  property  affairs or other authorized representative) using an electronic digital 
signature;”  
Para 6 shall be laid out in such wordings:  
“6. In  order  to identify  a topography  which  was used prior  to the applicatio n filing  date, 
semiconductor pr oduct samples containing this  topography  in the form it was used in must  be 
submitted  to the Institution  along  with the application . In that case, an application must also contain 
the date when a topography  was first used, an d the materials include key technical characteristics of 
a semiconductor product sample”;  
In para 8 words “IMC samples” replace by “semiconductor product samples”;  
Para 10 shall be laid out in such wordings:  
“10. Applications  must  be completed  and filed according  to the rules  set by the central  body  of 
executive  power  responsible  for formation  of the national  policy  on intellectual  property”;  
In the second sentence of the Para 11 wordings “The Institution must receive a fee payment 
receipt together with the application or within ” replace by wordings “This fee must be paid before 
expiration”;  
12) in the Article  11: 
In the Para 5 wordings  “an IMC topography ” replace  by the “semiconductor  product  topography ; 
Part 3 of the Para  6 shall be laid out as : 
“An applicant  shall  submit  additional  materials  within  two months  after receiving  an expertise  
establishment ’s notice  or conclusion  or copies  of materials  contradicting  the application . If the 
applicant  fails to submit  additional  materials  by the required deadline , his application shall be 
considered withdrawn and the relevant notice will be served to the applicant . The deadline for 
submission of additional materials may be extended for up to six months , if a relevant request was 
filed before expir ation of that period and the applicable filing fee paid. If the deadline for 
submission of additional materials is missed for valid reasons, the applicant’s rights concerning application shall be restored , if a relevant request along with additional materi als was submitted 
within six months after expiration of that period and the applicable filing fee paid”;  
In part 5 Para 7 wordings “a document confirming payment” replace with wording s “the fee 
paid” ; 
In para 8 wordings “a  document  confirming  payment  of the application  filing  fee is available” 
replace with wordings “the fee paid for application filing is conformant with the applicable 
requirements” ; 
In the first part of the Para 11 wordings  “document confirming payment” replace with words 
“the fee paid” ; 
In the first sentence  of the para 12 words  “IMC  samples ”  replace  by words  “semiconductor  
product  samples ”; 
13) in the Article 12: 
Para 1 and 2 shall be laid out in such wordings : 
“1. After  a topography  registration  application  is approved , the Institution  registers  the 
topography  by filing  relevant  information  in the Register .  
The Register  keeping  procedure  and information  filed therein  are determined  by the central  
body  of executive  power  responsible  for formation  of the national  policy  on intellectual  property .  
2. State  registration  of a topography  is filed upon  availability  of a document  confirming  
payment  of the state duty for registration  of a semiconductor  product  topography  and the paid fee 
for publication of a topography  registration notice . The aforementioned duty and fee are payable 
after the applicant receives a notice approving registration of a topography .  
If an expertise  establishment  does not receive  a document  confi rming  payment  of the state duty 
for registration  of a semiconductor  product  topography  and the fee for publication of a topography  
registration notice  in the amount  and according  to the procedure  required  by law within  three  
months  after the applicant  received  a notice  approving  registration  of a topography , the application  
shall  be considered  withdrawn . 
The deadline  for submission  of a document  confirming  payment  of the state duty for 
registration  of a semiconductor  product  topography  and payment  of the fee for publication  of a 
topography  registration  notice may  be extended for up to six months , if a relevant request was filed 
before expiration of that period and the applicable filing fee paid . If the deadline  for submission  of a 
document  confirming  payment  of the state duty for registration  of a semiconductor  product  
topography  and payment  of the fee for publication  of a topography  registration  notice is missed for 
valid reasons , the applicant’s rights concerning application shall be restored , if a relevant request 
along with a document  confirming  payment  of the state duty for registration  of a semiconductor  
product  topography  was submitted within six months after expiration of th at period and the 
applicable filing fee and the  fee for publication  of a topography  registration  notice paid”;   
In para 4: 
Second sentence to be excluded ; 
And para shall be supplemented with the third part with such wordings:  
“A fee is charged  for filing  a request  for correction  of errors  or for making  any of the 
aforementioned changes , if an error is not obvious or technical and the change has occurred due to 
circumstances within the applicant’s control”;  
14) in the para 1 of the Article 13 words “offici al bulletin” replace with words “Bulletin” ; 15) in the Article 15: 
Para 2 is to be excluded;  
In the part 3 words  “registration  of an IMC  topography ” replace with words “registration  of a 
semiconductor  product  topography ”; 
Part 2 of the para 7 after words “fully or partially” supplement with words “due to breach of 
the expertise procedure”;  
Part 8 is excluded ; 
Supplemented with para 10 with the following wording:  
“10. The Appellate  Chamber ’s decisions  enter  into force as o f the date of their approval by an 
order of the Institution, and require publication in full on the Institution’s official website” ; 
16) in the Article  16: 
In the para 1 words “The  rights  following  from  registration  of an IMC  topography enter into 
force on the date of filing information regarding an  IMC  topography in the Register” replace with 
words “The  rights  following  from  registration  of a topography  enter  into force  on the date following 
the date of its state registration”;  
In para  2 delete the  word “exclusive” ; 
In para 3: 
In the part 1 the word  “right ” replace  with words  “exclusive  right ”; 
In the part  2 the word “ using” replace with words “commercially using or importing for that 
purpose the topography ”; 
Part seven shall be laid out in such wording:  
“manufacturing  semiconductor  products  using  this topography ”; 
Part 11 shall be laid out in such wordings:  
“A semiconductor  product  is considered  manufactured  using  a registered  topography , if all 
elements  defining  the topography  as original  have  been  used to manufacture  it”; 
In para 4  
The words “official bulletin” replace with the words “Bulletin”;  
17)  in the Article 17: 
Para 1 shall be supplemented with wording s: 
“Reproducing  topography  for the purposes  of analysis , evaluation  or study  of concepts , 
processes , systems or methods embod ied in a topography , or the topography  itself” ; 
In para  2: 
In part 2 words : “An IMC  with registered  topography  and products  containing  these  IMCs” 
replace with words “ ;A semiconductor  product  with registered  topography  and products  containing  
these  semiconductor  products” ; 
In para  3: 
First sentence shall be laid out is such wordings : 3. The use of a semiconductor  product  by any 
person  who purchased  a semiconductor  product  but did not and could  not know  that this 
semiconductor  product or a device containing it has been manufactured and marketed by infringing 
the rights  provided  by registration  of a topography  is not considered  infringement  of rights  provided  
by registration  of a topography ”; In the second sentence the word “IMC” replace with  words  “semiconductor  product” ; 
In para  4: 
In the first part words “the previous usage  of the  right to this IMC topography” replace with 
words “the  previous  user’s right  to this topography ”; 
Article shall be supplemented with para 5 by following wordings : 
“5. The use of another topography  conformant with Article 5 (2) and (3) of this Law and 
created as a result of analysis , evaluation  or study  of concepts , processes , systems or methods 
embodied in a registered topography  is not considered  infringe ment  of rights  provided  by 
registration  of a topography ”; 
18) Article 18 : 
In para  1 the word “exclusive” deleted;  
19) in  para 3 of the Article 20 words “ its official bulletin” replace with word “Bulletin” ; 
20) part 2 of the Article 23 shall be laid out in such wordings:  
“Revenues  from  the state duty for registration  of semiconductor  product  topographies  shall  be 
remitted  to budgets according to the procedure provided by the Budget Code of Ukraine” ; 
II. Final and transitional provisions  
 
1. This Law enters into force on the next day of its publication.  
 
2. Prior to bringing the normative -legal acts adopted before the entry into force of this Law, 
they shall act in accordance with this Law in a part that does not contravene this Law  
 
3. . Examination of applications for registration topographies of integrated circuits obtained by 
a central executive body implementing state polic y in the field of intellectual property, prior 
to the entry into force of this Law, which is not completed at the time of entry into force of 
this Law, shall be conducted in accordance with the procedure established by this Law.  
 
4. Certificates issued on app lications received by the central executive body implementing 
state policy in the field of intellectual property prior to the entry into force of this Law are 
valid.  
 
5.  The Cabinet of the Ministers of Ukraine shall, within six months from the day this Law 
enters into force:  
- bring s its normative legal acts in compliance with this Law;  
- ensure s Central Executive Bodies bring their legal acts into compliance with this 
Law.  
President of Ukraine  V. ZELENSK YY 
Kyiv  
September 19th,  2019  
№ 111 -IX