1. B. ‘Reputation’ and common law trade marks C. Unregistered designs
Copyright
B. ‘Reputation’ and common law trade marks
C. Unregistered designs
D. Semiconductor topography right
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2. General remarks
Designing a ‘chip’ is not easy but copying it is not difficult
The design, the layout or topography of a chip is the protected subject-matter, not its function
Duration: 10 years
Requirement: originality
Rationale for such protection
This right is of importance to the semi-conductor industry, which manufactures small chips, silicon wafers etc, upon which tiny circuits are etched.  These chips are used in computers and control systems of many different electronic devices.  The chips themselves might be patentable, if manufactured using novel techniques, or made from novel materials.  However the designs etched upon their surface are not patentable, because such designs are not, of themselves, "inventions" any more than a picture painted on a tea-cup is an invention. The existence of the right encourages chip manufacturers to license to each other the most effective circuit designs for different components.  Original designs are worth protecting because considerable intellectual effort goes into arranging each circuit in the most responsive and energy efficient format as possible.  An inefficient circuit design can, at first, seem to function just as well, but will cause the chip to overheat, leading to the failure of the entire component. The design of the circuit - the many lines interconnecting at different points - is functional rather than artistic, and because it is subject to mass manufacture it is excluded from copyright protection per se.  This "sui generis" right, therefore, is based upon design protection law, and is called "semi-conductor topography right", i.e. a right against the unauthorized copying of original surface designs etched upon a semi-conductor wafer.  The right lasts for 10 years from its first sale, or 15 years from its creation (whichever is shorter), and it many states is an automatic (it is an unregistered right, like copyright).  The Directive allowed for registration to be a requirement for protection, but this was optional, and many states, e.g. UK operate an unregistered system.  The equivalent system in the US does use registration as a criterion for protection, and to determines a start date for the lifetime of the protection.  Its duration is typically far more than is necessary in a technological area where progress is rapid, and many chip designs can be out-of-date in just a few years.  In the UK at least, Licenses of Right, common with other unregistered designs, are NOT available for semi-conductor topographies.
Council Directive  87/54/EEC
Duration: 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the typography is first commercially exploited anywhere in the world. For the sake of completeness, in any country in which registration is required, the period of protection is 10 years from the filing of the application for registration or the commercial exploitation, whichever of those two events is the earlier
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3. Some useful links
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4. Institutions and Associations
Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market – Trade Marks and Designs
World Intellectual Property Organization
The International Chamber of Commerce
International Trademark Association
European Communities Trade Mark Association
The Copyright Society of the USA
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5. General IP information sources
IPR-Helpdesk
InnovAccess
The IP Law Server
IP Menu
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6. Quiz - Unregistered IP (Multiple choice answers)
Module 2A
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7. 1. Copyright is the right that prevents the copying of books, CDs and DVDs:
True, but it is always possible to make a photocopy of a book
False because a CD is protected by a patent
Copyright protects diverse forms of literary, artistic and scientific expressions, including these
False because software is also protected
Correct answer:
C) Copyright protects diverse forms of literary, artistic and scientific expressions, including these.
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8. 1. Copyright is the right that prevents the copying of books, CDs and DVDs:
True, but it is always possible to make a photocopy of a book
False because a CD is protected by a patent
Copyright protects diverse forms of literary, artistic and scientific expressions, including these
False because software is also protected
Correct answer:
C) Copyright protects diverse forms of literary, artistic and scientific expressions, including these
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9. 2. In the EU, the term of protection for copyrighted works is 20 years:
a) No, the general rule is the author’s life and 70 years after his death
b) No, it is 50 years
c) No, it is 70 years
d) True
Correct answer:
a) No, the general rule is the author’s life and 70 years after his death
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10. 2. In the EU, the term of protection for copyrighted works is 20 years:
a) No, the general rule is the author’s life and 70 years after his death
b) No, it is 50 years
c) No, it is 70 years
d) True
Correct answer:
a) No, the general rule is the author’s life and 70 years after his death
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11. 3. Copyright can protect my works:
True in every literary or artistic area
Yes if they are original
Yes if they are expressed in a particular form
Yes if they are original and expressed in a particular form
Correct answer:
d) Yes if they are original and expressed in a particular form
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12. 3. Copyright can protect my works:
True in every literary or artistic area
Yes if they are original
Yes if they are expressed in a particular form
Yes if they are original and expressed in a particular form
Correct answer:
d) Yes if they are original and expressed in a particular form
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13. 4. In the EU computer programs as such are protected by copyright:
False, computer programs as such are protected by patents in the EU
False, the European Parliament has always rejected the protection of computer programs
True
False, the natural protection of a piece of software is secrecy
Correct answer:
c) True
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14. 4. In the EU computer programs as such are protected by copyright:
False, computer programs as such are protected by patents in the EU
False, the European Parliament has always rejected the protection of computer programs
True
False, the natural protection of a piece of software is secrecy
Correct answer:
c) True
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15. 5. Before I can enjoy copyright protection I should:
Publish my work
Send a copy to the National Library of my country
No formality is required
Send a copy to the Intellectual Property Office
Correct answer:
c) No formality is required
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16. 5. Before I can enjoy copyright protection I should:
Publish my work
Send a copy to the National Library of my country
No formality is required
Send a copy to the Intellectual Property Office
Correct answer:
c) No formality is required
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17. 6. Copyright gives me:
Among other rights, the exclusive right to reproduce and communicate my work to the public
Exclusively moral rights
A minimum of 1% royalties on every copy of my work
It depends on each contract
Correct answer:
a) Among other rights, the exclusive right to reproduce and communicate my work to the public
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18. 6. Copyright gives me:
Among other rights, the exclusive right to reproduce and communicate my work to the public
Exclusively moral rights
A minimum of 1% royalties on every copy of my work
It depends on each contract
Correct answer:
a) Among other rights, the exclusive right to reproduce and communicate my work to the public
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19. 7. Moral rights give me: A recognition of my paternity over the work
A right to refuse any inadequate modification to the work
Both a) and b)
The right to decide on the ethics of the exploitation of my work
Correct answer:
c) Both a) and b)
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20. 7. Moral rights give me: A recognition of my paternity over the work
A right to refuse any inadequate modification to the work
Both a) and b)
The right to decide on the ethics of the exploitation of my work
Correct answer:
c) Both a) and b)
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21. 8. If I need to use a third party’s work, I can use it in good faith without asking permission:
True, always
False
The use of a copyrighted work requires the right holder’s prior consent, unless the use is covered by an exception
True but only once it has gone through customs clearance
Correct answer:
c) The use of a copyrighted work requires the right holder’s prior consent, unless the use is covered by an exception
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22. 8. If I need to use a third party’s work, I can use it in good faith without asking permission:
True, always
False
The use of a copyrighted work requires the right holder’s prior consent, unless the use is covered by an exception
True but only once it has gone through customs clearance
Correct answer:
c) The use of a copyrighted work requires the right holder’s prior consent, unless the use is covered by an exception
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23. 9. The Unregistered Community Design is:
A concept used in practice. In order to be protected, a design needs to be registered
A design that cannot be registered because it does not comply with the legal requirements of novelty and individual character
An IP right recognised by the Community legislation
An ugly Community design
Correct answer:
c) An IP right recognised by the Community legislation
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24. 9. The Unregistered Community Design is:
A concept used in practice. In order to be protected, a design needs to be registered
A design that cannot be registered because it does not comply with the legal requirements of novelty and individual character
An IP right recognised by the Community legislation
An ugly Community design
Correct answer:
c) An IP right recognised by the Community legislation
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25. 10. The Unregistered Community Design protects:
The right holder from any third parties that copy and commercially use the design
The right holder from any third parties that make the same or similar designs, even by coincidence
The right holder from any third parties that already have a registered right for the same design
The public interest, since the Unregistered Community Design cannot be registered and thus everyone can use it for free
Correct answer:
a) The right holder from any third parties that copy and commercially use the design
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26. 10. The Unregistered Community Design protects:
The right holder from any third parties that copy and commercially use the design
The right holder from any third parties that make the same or similar designs, even by coincidence
The right holder from any third parties that already have a registered right for the same design
The public interest, since the Unregistered Community Design cannot be registered and thus everyone can use it for free
Correct answer:
a) The right holder from any third parties that copy and commercially use the design
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27. 11. The Unregistered Community Design does not protect me against third parties that inde-pendently create identical or similar designs
Of course it does. It protects me against any third party that makes identical or similar designs, with or without having seen mine
Indeed. If a third party independently makes an identical or similar design, I am not protected against this
It is impossible for two people to make an identical or similar design independently
It does protect me, provided that the third parties work in the same sector
Correct answer:
b) Indeed. If a third party independently makes an identical or similar design, I am not protected against this
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28. 11. The Unregistered Community Design does not protect me against third parties that inde-pendently create identical or similar designs
Of course it does. It protects me against any third party that makes identical or similar designs, with or without having seen mine
Indeed. If a third party independently makes an identical or similar design, I am not protected against this
It is impossible for two people to make an identical or similar design independently
It does protect me, provided that the third parties work in the same sector
Correct answer:
b) Indeed. If a third party independently makes an identical or similar design, I am not protected against this
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29. 12. The duration of the protection of the Unregistered Community Design is:
70 years after the death of the designer
9 years
Same as for the Registered Community Design
3 years
Correct answer:
d) 3 years
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30. 12. The duration of the protection of the Unregistered Community Design is:
70 years after the death of the designer
9 years
Same as for the Registered Community Design
3 years
Correct answer:
d) 3 years
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31. 13. The protection of an Unregistered Community Design becomes effective:
From the very moment the designer finishes his drawing
From the moment of public disclosure of the design to the circles specialised in the Community
From the date the designer decides to enforce his rights against infringers
From the moment of its registration with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
Correct answer:
b) From the moment of public disclosure of the design to the circles specialised in the Community
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32. 13. The protection of an Unregistered Community Design becomes effective:
From the very moment the designer finishes his drawing
From the moment of public disclosure of the design to the circles specialised in the Community
From the date the designer decides to enforce his rights against infringers
From the moment of its registration with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
Correct answer:
b) From the moment of public disclosure of the design to the circles specialised in the Community
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33. 14. Can I register an Unregistered Community Design?
Of course not
Yes, during the grace period (1 year)
Sure, up to 3 years after disclosure
It makes no sense to register an Unregistered Community Design
Correct answer:
b) Yes, during the grace period (1 year)
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34. 14. Can I register an Unregistered Community Design?
Of course not
Yes, during the grace period (1 year)
Sure, up to 3 years after disclosure
It makes no sense to register an Unregistered Community Design
Correct answer:
b) Yes, during the grace period (1 year)
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35. 15. If my commercial sign is not protected, let’s say by a trade mark, there is no protection at all:
True. Everyone can use it freely
You cannot register a commercial sign as a trade mark anyway
Not necessarily. There may be some sort of protection under unfair competition law or other IP rights
False. I always enjoy protection against people that had the same idea after me
Correct answer:
c) Not necessarily. There may be some sort of protection under unfair competition law or other IP rights
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36. 15. If my commercial sign is not protected, let’s say by a trade mark, there is no protection at all:
True. Everyone can use it freely
You cannot register a commercial sign as a trade mark anyway
Not necessarily. There may be some sort of protection under unfair competition law or other IP rights
False. I always enjoy protection against people that had the same idea after me
Correct answer:
c) Not necessarily. There may be some sort of protection under unfair competition law or other IP rights
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37. Thank you for your attention!
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