India Preps Registry For IC Design, Layout Protection

BANGALORE, India — Following up on a law that protects IC designs and layout, India is nearing completion of a registry to accept such applications.

The office will be located in New Delhi and a starting date is not yet known, said the Ministry of Information Technology. The move comes six years after the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act of 2000.

The law offered a 10-year protection period, with a fine for infringement. But, at the time, India's industry complained that protection at the layout level alone is insufficient. The law had been formulated according to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organization.