The updated regulations, endorsed by Premier Li Qiang on July 23, will come into effect on October 15, according to a document released by the Justice Ministry and the China National Intellectual Property Administration through state news agency Xinhua on Monday.
The regulations pertain to specific layouts dictating how components are positioned within a chip, designs that may demonstrate extensive engineering effort and are crucial to semiconductor innovation, even for firms that do not produce chips.
These measures do not represent export controls but indicate the heightened strategic significance that Beijing is attributing to technologies developed by Chinese firms.
US restricting access
China’s semiconductor sector has intensified efforts to establish domestic alternatives following successive U.S. restrictions that limited access to cutting-edge semiconductor-design software and production equipment.
Chinese officials are also considering wider measures to prevent strategically vital domestic technologies from being exported or acquired by foreign entities, as reported by the Financial Times last month.
Such proposals may involve imposing constraints on the overseas production of advanced chips that utilize Chinese designs, the publication noted.
The revisions disclosed on Monday are intended to make it more challenging to replicate such designs or obtain legal recognition over creations developed by others. Applicants must demonstrate that their filings arise from authentic creative efforts, submit declarations of originality, and explicitly outline the original components included in materials presented to authorities.
Regulators will have the authority to deny applications that evidently do not fulfill these standards, while the amendments also establish a clearer framework for contesting registrations that were improperly granted.
The regulations enhance remedies for infringement, enabling damages to be assessed based on losses incurred by the rights holder or profits realized by the infringer. Courts may award punitive damages in severe instances.
The rules further clarify the licensing, transfer, or collateral use of layout-design rights, and mandate that organizations responsible for their development provide reasonable compensation and rewards to qualified personnel.
