CELEX: 51995PC0261
Language: sv
Date: 1995-06-13
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION on the extension of the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products to persons from the United States of America

EUROPEISKA GEMENSKAPERNAS KOMMISSION

                                                  Bryssel den 13.06.1995
                                                  KOM(95) 261 slutlig

                                   Förslag till

                               RÅDETS BESLUT

om utsträckning av det rättsliga skyddet för kretsmönster i halvledarprodukter till
                         personer från Förenta staterna

                           (framlagt av kommissionen)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                  Explanatory memorandum

                        Community and international legal context

Council Directive 87/54/EEC of 16 December 1986 on the legal protection of
topographies of semiconductor products1 lays down the basic principles which the
Member States must observe for the protection of intellectual property irr these
topographies. It provides that protection is to be available to natural persons who are
nationals of, or have their habitual residence in, a Member State, and to companies or
other legal persons which have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment
in the territory of a Member State. The Directive has been implemented in the legislation
of all the Member States.

Under the terms of the Agreement on the European Economic Area, the Directive was
extended to the EFTA countries where this Agreement was in force, and it continues,
accordingly, to form part of the domestic legal order of the EFTA countries where the
Agreement is in force and which have not become members of the European Union.2

A series of Council Decisions, also taken over as binding acts in the Agreement on the
European Economic Area already mentioned, have extended the legal protection of
topographies of semiconductor products introduced by Directive 87/54/EEC to persons
from certain countries and territories outside the Community. This protection has been
granted on the basis of reciprocity to natural and legal persons, in some cases on a
permanent basis and in others on a temporary basis.3

       OJ No L 24, 27.1.1987, p. 36.
       Article 65(2) and Annex XVII, point 1 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
       Currently in force:
       - Council Decision 90/510/EEC of 9 October 1990 (OJ No L 285, 17.10.1990, p. 29), as
           amended by Decision 93/17/EEC of 21 December 1992 (OJ No L 11, 19.1.1993, p. 22),
           which introduces a system of permanent and unconditional protection in respect of certain
           countries and territories which have granted like protection to the Community
           Member States;
       - Council Decision 94/373/EC of 27 June 1994 (OJ No L 170, 5.7.1994, p. 34) on the
           extension of the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products to persons from
           the United States of America until 1 July 1995;
       - Council Decision 94/700/EC of 24 October 1994 (OJ No L 284, 1.11.1994, p. 61) on the
           extension of the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products to persons from
           Canada;
       - Council Decision 94/828/EC of 19 December 1994 (OJ No L 351, 31.12.1994, p. 12) on the
           extension of the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products to persons from
           certain territories.
                                                                                                    A
 ---pagebreak--- As provided for in Article 4(1) and (2) of Protocol 28 to the Agreement on the European
Economic Area, the Contracting Parties to the Agreement have the right to take decisions
on the extension of the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products to
persons from any third country or territory which is not a Contracting Party to the
Agreement who do not benefit from the protection afforded by the Agreement. They may
also conclude agreements to this effect.

Where the right to protection for topographies of semiconductor products is extended to a
non-Contracting Party, the Contracting Party concerned must endeavour to ensure that
the non-Contracting Party concerned will grant the right to protection to the other
Contracting Parties to the Agreement under equivalent conditions to those granted to the
Contracting Party concerned.

In addition, the Agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, which
forms part of the results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations
embodied in the Marrakesh Final Act of 15 April 1994, requires Member States to grant
protection to topographies of integrated circuits in accordance with the provisions of that
Agreement and those of the Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated
Circuits to which it refers.

This Agreement, together with that establishing the World Trade Organization, entered
into force in the Community on 1 January 1995.4 Countries of the industrialized world
which are Parties to the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization have one
year following the entry into force of this Agreement to apply its provisions on trade-
related aspects of intellectual property rights.5

Council Decision 94/824/EC of 22 December 1994 provides for the extension of the legal
protection of topographies of semiconductor products to persons from a Member of the
World Trade Organization as from 1 January 1996.6 For his part, President Clinton
announced on 23 March 1995 that the protection afforded under American law had been
extended to all Members of the World Trade Organization with effect from the same
date.7

       Council Decision 94/800/EC of 22 December 1994 concerning the conclusion on behalf of the
       European Community, as regards matters within its competence, of the agreements reached in
       the Uruguay Round multilateral negotiations (1986-1994), OJ No L 336, 23.12.1994.
       Article 65 of the Agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
       OJNOL349, 31.12.1994, p. 201.
       Proclamation 6780 to Implement Certain Provisions of Trade Agreements Resulting From the
       Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, and for Other Purposes.
 ---pagebreak---           Relations between the Community and the United States of America

Council Decision 94/373/EC8 was adopted on 27 June 1994 in order to extend the interim
protection already granted by the Community to persons from the United States of
America by the successive Decisions which had been adopted from 26 October 1987 to
that date. Decision 94/373/EC extends, from 2 July 1994 to 1 July 1995, the protection
provided for pursuant to Directive 87/54/EEC to natural persons who are nationals of the
United States of America or have their habitual residence in the territory of that country,
and to companies and other legal persons of the United States of America which have a
real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in that country.

In the United States, the order of 26 May 1994, adopted in accordance with Section 914
of the 1984 Semiconductor Chip Protection Act,9 extends until 1 July 1995 the interim
orders granting the legal protection provided for by this legislation to nationals, residents
or sovereign authorities of Member States of the European Community. By Proclamation
6780 of 23 March 1995,10 and in accordance with Section 902(a)(2) of the 1984
Semiconductor Chip Protection Act, President Clinton extended the protection provided
for in this legislation to the Member States of the European Community with effect from 1
July 1995.11 As specified above, the protection in question is also to be extended to all the
Members of the World Trade Organization as from 1 January 1996.12

                                             Proposal

In view of the extension, by virtue of the Proclamation of the President of the
United States, of the full and complete protection established by the 1984 Semiconductor
Chip Protection Act to the Member States of the European Community with effect from
1 July 1995, it may be concluded that natural and legal persons from these Member States
will continue to be afforded appropriate protection in the United States of America in
respect of topographies of semiconductor products.

The extension of protection to persons from the Member States of the Community under
the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act is conditional on reciprocal protection being
provided by the Community for persons from the United States.

The criterion of reciprocity, currently used to determine whether to extend protection, can
in future no longer be applied because of the Agreement on trade-related aspects of
intellectual property rights.

8
       Aforementioned Decision, footnote 3.
9
       Chapter 9 of Title 17, United States Code.
10
       See footnote 7.
11
       Point 3 of the Proclamation, first sentence.
12
       Point 3 of the Proclamation, second sentence.
 ---pagebreak--- It is therefore proposed that the Council extend the right to protection under
Directive 87/54/EEC to natural and legal persons from the United States of America with
effect from 2 M y 1995 and until Decision 94/824/EC applies, i.e. 1 January 1996. As
from that date, protection in accordance with the requirements of the aforementioned
Agreement wiö be provided by the United States of America and the Member States of
the European Community to persons from ail the Members of the World Trade
Organization in respect of topographies of semiconductor products.

                       Measures to he taken in connection with
                   the Agreement on the European Economic Area

The proposed Council Decision relates, as stated above, to a matter covered by the
Agreement on the European Economic Area. It is aimed at implementing, in respect of
persons from the United States of America, the protective machinery already applied to a
certain number of countries, reflected by the adoption of a series of Council Decisions
already listed as binding acts in Annex XVII, point 3 of this Agreement. Accordingly, the
application of the Decision should be extended to the EFTA countries in which the
Agreement on the European Economic Area is in force and which are not members of the
European Union.

Moreover, in accordance with Article 4(2) of Protocol 28 to the Agreement, the
Community will endeavour to ensure that the US authorities grant the right to protection
to the other Contracting Parties to the Agreement under equivalent conditions as those
granted to them.
 ---pagebreak---                               Förslag till rådets beslut
                                      av den...
 om utsträckning av det rättsliga skyddet för kretsmönster i halvledarprodukter till
                          personer från Förenta staterna

EUROPEISKA UNIONENS RÅD HAR FATTAT DETTA BESLUT

med beaktande av Fördraget om upprättandet av Europeiska gemenskapen, och

med beaktande av rådets direktiv 87/54/EEG av den 16 december 1986 om rättsligt skydd
för kretsmönster i halvledarprodukter1, särskilt artikel 3.7 i detta,

med beaktande av kommissionens förslag, och

med beaktande av följande:

Rätten till rättsligt skydd för halvledarprodukters kretsmönster i gemenskapen gäller
personer som är berättigade till skydd enligt artikel 3.1-3.5 i direktiv 87/54/EEG.

Rådet kan genom beslut utsträcka denna rätt till personer som inte har rätt till skydd enligt
de nämnda bestämmelserna.

Beslut om utsträckning av skyddet i fråga bör i den mån det är möjligt fattas för hela
gemenskapen.

Skyddet har sedan den 7 november 1987 utsträckts till att omfatta Förenta staterna genom
en rad interimsbeslut av rådet2, varav det senaste är beslut 94/373/EG av den 27 juni
1994.

Det beslutet är tillämpligt till och med den 1 juli 1995.

Förenta staterna har lämplig lagstiftning om skydd för halvledarprodukters kretsmönster
och landets president utsträckte i ett tillkännagivande av den 23 mars 1995 det skyddet till
att gälla personer från Europeiska gemenskapens medlemsstater från och med den I juli
1995.

Enligt det avtal om handelsrelaterade aspekter av immateriell äganderätt, som utgör ett av
resultaten av de multilaterala handelsförhandlingarna under Uruguayrundan och som ingår
i Marrakesh-slutakten av den 15 april 1994, är medlemmarna skyldiga att bevilja skydd för
kretsmönster för integrerade kretsar i enlighet med sina egna bestämmelser och med
bestämmelserna i det fördrag om immateriell äganderätt i fråga om integrerade kretsar
som det hänvisar till.

   EGT nr L 24, 27.1.1987, s. 36.
   Rådets beslut 87/532/EEG av den 26 oktober 1987, EGT nr L 313, 4.11.1987, s. 22; rådets beslut
   90/5Il/EEG av den 9 oktober 1990, EGT nr L 285, 17.10.1990, s. 31; rådets beslut 93/16/EEG av den
   21 december 1992, EGT nr L 11, 19.1.1993, s. 20; rådets beslut 94/4/EG av den 20 december 1993,
   EGT nr L 6, 8.1.1994, s. 23; rådets beslut 94/373/EG av den 27 juni 1994, EGT nr L 170, 5.7.1994, s.
   34.
                                                                                                      6"
 ---pagebreak--- Det avtalet, samt avtalet om inrättande av Världshandelsorganisationen (till vilket det
bifogas), trädde i kraft i gemenskapen den 1 januari 1995. De industriländer som är
medlemmar i avtalet om inrättande av Världshandelsorganisationen har ett år på sig efter
dess ikraftträdande att genomföra de delar av det sistnämnda avtalet som gäller
handelsrelaterade aspekter av immateriell äganderätt.

Gemenskapen har antagit rådets beslut 94/824/EG om utsträckning av det rättsliga
skyddet     för    kretsmönster      i    halvledarprodukter    till   medborgare i
Världshandelsorganisationens medlemsländer3, som är tillämpligt från och med den
1 januari 1996. Förenta staterna är medlem i Världshandelsorganisationen.

Med tanke på att Förenta staterna har utsträckt det skydd som den amerikanska
lagstiftningen ger till personer från Europeiska gemenskapens medlemsstater, bör rätten
till skydd enligt direktiv 87/54/EEG utökas till fysiska och juridiska personer från Förenta
staterna med verkan från och med den 2 juli 1995 och till dess att beslut 94/824/EG börjar
tillämpas, dvs. den 1 januari 1996.

HÄRIGENOM FÖRESKRIVS FÖLJANDE

                                               Artikel /

Medlemsstaterna skall utsträcka rätten till skydd enligt direktiv 87/54/EG enligt följande:

a)    Fysiska personer som är medborgare i Förenta staterna eller som varaktigt är bosatta
      inom Förenta staternas territorium skall behandlas på samma sätt som medborgare i
      en medlemsstat.

b) Företag och andra juridiska personer från Förenta staterna som har en faktisk och
   aktiv industriell verksamhet eller handelsverksamhet där skall behandlas som om de
   hade en faktisk och aktiv industriell verksamhet eller handelsverksamhet på en
   medlemsstats territorium.

                                              Artikel 2

Detta beslut skall tillämpas från och med den 2 juli 1995.

Medlemsstaterna skall utsträcka rätten till rättsligt skydd enligt detta beslut till de
personer som avses i artikel 1 till och med den 1 januari 1996.

Eventuella exklusiva rättigheter som erhållits genom något av besluten 87/532/EEG,
90/511/EEG, 93/16/EEG, 94/4/EG, 94/373/EG eller genom detta beslut skall fortsätta att
gälla under den period som fastställs i direktiv 87/54/EEG.

     Beslut av den 22 december 1994, EGT nr L 349, 31.12.1994, s. 201.
 ---pagebreak---                                         Artikel S

Detta beslutriktarsig till medlemsstaterna.

Utfärdat i Bryssel den ....

                                                    Pä rådels vägnar

                                                        Ordförande
 ---pagebreak---                                                                     ISSN 1024-4506

                                                        KOM(95) 261 slutlig

                                               DOKUMENT

SV                                                                    06 11 02

                                     Katalognummer : CB-C0-95-282-SV-C

                                                               ISBN 92-77-90344-9

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