The updated rules tighten originality reviews, clarify challenges to improper registrations and allow punitive damages for serious semiconductor design infringement cases.
China will implement revised regulations on Oct. 15 to strengthen protection for integrated circuit layout designs, tightening registration standards, clarifying how improper registrations can be challenged and expanding remedies for infringement. Premier Li Qiang signed the regulations on July 23, and Xinhua reported the development on the 3rd. The overhaul, announced by the Ministry of Justice and the National Intellectual Property Administration, focuses on circuit layouts, the design architecture that determines how components are arranged inside a chip. Applicants will now have to provide materials showing a design is the product of original creative work, clearly identify declarations of originality and specify the original elements of the creation. Authorities will be able to reject applications that clearly fail to meet the requirements. The revised rules also strengthen enforcement by allowing damages to be calculated based on the rights holder's losses or the infringer's gains, while courts can impose punitive damages in serious cases. They further clarify rules for licensing, transfer and the use of circuit designs as collateral, and require organizations leading design work to provide reasonable compensation and rewards to participating personnel. The changes come as China pushes to bolster domestic semiconductor capabilities after successive U.S. restrictions on access to advanced chip design software and manufacturing equipment. Analysts say the revisions are aimed at favoring companies with genuine technological capabilities and at reinforcing protections around strategically important chip-related know-how without amounting to direct export controls.