The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000

(1) This Act may be called the SemiconductorIntegrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000. (2) It extends to the whole of India. (3) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, andany reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference tothe coming into force of that provision.

In this Act, unles the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Appellate Board" means the Appellate Board established under section 32; (b) "assignment" means an assignment in writing by act of the parties concerned; (c) "Bench" means a Bench of the Appellate Board; (d) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Appellate Board; (e) "commercial exploitation", in relation to Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design,means to sell, lease, offer or exhibit for sale or otherwise distribute such semiconductor integratedcircuit for any commercial purpose; (f) "convention country" means a country notified as such under section 93; (g) "Judicial Member" means a Member of the Appellate Board appointed as such under this Act,and includes the Chairperson or such Vice-Chairperson who possesses any of the qualificationsspecified in sub-section (3) of section 34; (h) "layout-design" means a layout of transistors and other circuitry elements and includes leadwires connecting such elements and expressed in any manner in a semiconductor integrated circuit; (i) "Member" means a Judicial Member or a Technical Member of the Appellate Board andincludes the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson; (j) "notify" means to notify in the Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Journal published by theRegistrar; (k) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (l) "register" means the Register of Layout-Designs referred to in section 6; (m) "registered" (with its grammatical variations) means registered under this Act; (n) "registered layout-design" means a layout-design which is actually on the register; (o) "registered proprietor", in relation to a layout-design, means the person for the time beingentered in the register as proprietor of the layout-design; (p) "registered user" means a person who is for the time being registered as such under section25; (q) "Registrar" means the Registrar of Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design referredto in section 3; (r) "semiconductor integrated circuit" means a product having transistors and other circuitryelements which are inseparably formed on a semiconductor material or an insulating material orinside the semiconductor material and designed to perform an electronic circuitry function; (s) "Technical Member" means a Member of the Appellate Board who is not a Judicial Memberand includes the Chairperson or such Vice-Chairperson who possesses any of the qualificationsspecified in sub-section (4) of section 34; (t) "transmission" means transmission by operation of law, devolution on the personalrepresentation of a deceased person or any other mode of transfer not being assignment; (u) "Vice-Chairperson" means the Vice-Chairperson of the Appellate Board; (v) any reference to the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry shall beconstrued as including a reference to any office of the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits LayoutDesignRegistry.

(1) The Central Governmentmay, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint a person to be known as the Registrar ofSemiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design for the purposes of this Act. (2) The Central Government may appoint such other officers with such designation as it thinks fit forthe purpose of discharging, under the superintendence and direction of the Registrar, such functions of theRegistrar under this Act as he may from time to time authorise them to discharge.

Without prejudice to the generality of theprovisions of sub-section (2) of section 3, the Registrar may, by order in writing and for reasons to berecorded therein, withdraw any matter pending before an officer appointed under the said sub-section (2)and deal with such matter himself either de novo or from the stage it was so withdrawn or transferred the same to another officer so appointed who may subject to the special direction in the order of transfer dealwith the matter either de novo or from the stage it was so transferred.

(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be established a Registry which shall beknown as the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry. (2) The head office of the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry shall be at suchplace as the Central Government may specify and for the purposes of facilitating the registration oflayout-designs, there may be established, at such places as the Central Government may think fit, branchoffices of the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry. (3) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, define the territorial limitswithin which an office of the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry may exercise itsfunctions. (4) There shall be seal of the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry.