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Law No. 16 Of 6 March 1995 On The Protection Of Topographies Of Integrated Circuits

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 16 din 6 martie 1995 privind protecţia topografiilor circuitelor integrate

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LEGE no. 16 16 of 6 March 1995 (* republished *) on the protection of topographies of semiconductor products *)
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 211 211 of 25 March 2014



Note
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* *) Republicated pursuant to art. 248 248 of Law no. 187/2012 for the implementation of Law no. 286/2009 on the Criminal Code, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 757 of 12 November 2012, corrected in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 117 117 of 1 March 2013, as amended, giving the texts a new numbering.
Law no. 16/1995 was republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 824 of 6 October 2006, and has been amended by Law no. 76/2012 for the implementation of Law no. 134/2010 on the Code of Civil Procedure, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 365 365 of 30 May 2012 as amended.
---------- + Chapter I Subject matter + Article 1 The topographies of semiconductor products are protected on the territory of Romania, by registering at the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, under the conditions provided by this law. + Article 2 Within the meaning of the present law, the following terms and expressions are defined as follows: a) B.O.P.I. -Official Industrial Property Bulletin-Topographies section; b) semiconductor product-final or intermediate form of any product: --composed of a substrate that carries a layer of semiconductor material; and -consisting of one or more layers of conductive, insulating or semiconductor materials, the layers being arranged according to a predetermined three-dimensional configuration; and -intended to fulfil, exclusively or not, an electronic function; c) topography of a semiconductor product-a series of images related to each other, regardless of how they are fixed or encoded, representing the three-dimensional configuration of layers that compose a semiconductor product and in which each image reproduces the drawing or part of the drawing of a surface of the semiconductor product at any stage of its manufacture; d) commercial exploitation-sale, lease, leasing or any other method of commercial distribution or offer made for these purposes. However, commercial exploitation does not include exploitation under conditions of confidentiality; it applies under the condition that no distribution to third parties takes place apart from the situation in which the exploitation of the topography is carried out under the conditions of confidentiality required by the necessary measures to protect the essential interests of national security. + Article 3 (1) The original topographies are protected under the present law. They are the original topographies that constitute the result of the intellectual effort of their creators and which, at the time they were created, were not usual for the creators of surveyors and for the fabricators of semiconductor products. (2) A topography consisting of a combination of elements and usual interconnections can be protected only if the combination, taken as a whole, is original, within the meaning of paragraph 1. ((1). + Article 4 The rights of the holder of a protected topography on the semiconductor product shall not be subject to the fact that it is incorporated into a product. + Article 5 Protection granted, according to art. 3, applies only to the topography itself, with the exclusion of any concept, process, system, any technique or coded information incorporated in this topography. + Chapter II Right to protection + Article 6 (1) May benefit from the protection provided by this Law: a) natural persons who are nationals of a Member State of the European Union or of the World Trade Organization or who are habitually resident in the territory of such a State; b) companies or other legal entities that carry out an industrial or commercial activity, real and effective, on the territory of Romania or of a Member State of the European Union or of the World Trade Organization. ((2) In the event of the negotiation of international agreements with third states or the adoption of internal provisions, which intends to extend the protection granted by this law to persons other than those provided in par. (1), the European Commission will be informed 30 days in advance. (3) Conclusion of the agreements or adoption of the provisions provided in ((2) may not take place earlier than two months after the date of information of the European Commission, if it communicates to the Romanian State, within the period provided for in the preceding paragraph, the intention to submit to the European Council a proposal within the meaning of the extension of protection by all Member States as regards those persons or third countries concerned. (4) If during this period of two months the European Commission presents to the European Council such a proposal, the conclusion of the agreements or the adoption of the provisions provided for ((2) may not take place earlier than 4 months from the date of presentation of the proposal. (5) In the absence of a communication from the European Commission within the period provided for in paragraph ((3) or the presentation of a proposal or the adoption of a decision of the European Council within the time limits provided for in (4), the Romanian State may conclude the agreements or adopt the provisions provided in par. ((2). (6) The decision of the European Council, adopted on the basis of the proposal from the European Commission, does not preclude the conclusion of ((2), unless the Council decides otherwise by a qualified majority. + Article 7 (1) The person entitled to obtain the legal protection of a topography may be represented, in relations with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, by trustee. (2) In the case of individuals and foreign legal entities, with domicile, respectively headquarters, abroad, the representation by trustee is mandatory, the trustee must have his domicile or headquarters on the territory of Romania. + Article 8 ((1) The right to protection of the topography of a semiconductor product belongs to the creator of the topography or its successor. If there are more creators, co-authors, the rights belong to them in common. (2) The right to protection is granted to persons referred to in art. 6 6, which: a) proceed to a first commercial exploitation of a topography, in Romania or in the European Union, which has not been the subject of any exploitation in the world; and b) received from a person in law to dispose of topography the exclusive authorization to commercially exploit this topography on the territory of Romania or in the European Union. + Article 9 (1) If the topography was created by an employee in the service tasks, the right to the protection of the topography belongs to the unit whose employee is the creator of the topography. (2) If the topography was created on the order of a natural person or legal persons, the right to the protection of the topography belongs to the person who ordered it. ((. If there are contractual provisions contrary to those of the preceding paragraphs, these contractual provisions shall apply. + Article 10 If a topography has been commercially exploited, in the country or abroad, the topography can benefit from protection, under the conditions of this law, only if the application for registration has been submitted to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks within 2 years from the date of the first commercial operation. + Article 11 If a topography has not been commercially exploited for 15 years from the date on which it was first created or coded, the right to protection shall cease, as follows: a) if the topography has not been registered, it can no longer be subject to a registration request; b) if the topography has been registered, the rights conferred by registration shall be extinguished. + Chapter III Recording of topographies + Article 12 (1) The registration of a semiconductor product topography is subject to the constitution at the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks of a regulatory filing of the application for registration. (2) A registration application may have as its object a single topography, and a topography can be registered only once. + Article 13 (1) The deposit of the application for registration of a topography shall be regulated if the following are submitted: a) a written request requesting the recording of the topography and which must highlight at least: -name, surname and domicile of the topography creator/creators; -name and surname or name and address of the applicant, if any other than the creator of the topography; -indications regarding the applicant's right to record the topography; -name and destination of the semiconductor product achievable based on topography; -the date of fixing or the first encoding of the topography; -the date of the first commercial exploitation of the topography, where appropriate; -the name and surname or name and address of the trustee, where applicable; -the applicant's signature or, where applicable, the trustee; b) a technical documentation, consisting of graphic materials and texts, containing sufficient information to enable the identification of the topography and to highlight the electronic function of the semiconductor product incorporating the topography; c) two copies of the semiconductor product, if it has been made and commercially exploited; d) the empowerment of representation of the trustee, as applicable; e) proof of payment of the taxes provided by law. (2) All the above mentioned documents shall be submitted typed in Romanian. + Article 14 (1) The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks shall examine the applications for the registration of topographies in terms of meeting the legal requirements for the constitution of the regulatory deposit and, if they find their fulfilment, carry out the recording of the topography in the National Register of topographies, publishes the recording of the topography under the conditions 17 and issue to the entitled person a certificate of registration of the topography, within 3 months from the date of publication. (2) The date of the regulatory deposit is the date of registration of the protection request + Article 15 (1) If, when examining the application, there are shortcomings or deficiencies of the acts provided for in art. 13, they shall be communicated in writing to the applicant, within 15 days from the date of application, giving him a period of two months to carry out the necessary additions and rectifications. (2) If all these additions and rectifications have been carried out within the given period, the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks shall carry out the procedure provided for in art. 14. (3) The date of the regulatory deposit will be, in this case, the date on which all the necessary additions and rectifications have been received. (. If the application has not been completed and the corrections requested, the application shall be rejected and the reasons for the rejection shall be communicated in writing to the applicant. + Article 16 (1) The decisions on the applications for registration of topographies can be challenged by administrative, in writing and motivated, at the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, within 3 months of communication. (2) The appeal will be examined, within 3 months from its registration, by the Review Commission of the Department of Appeals *) of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks. Note
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* *) See the new organisational structure set out in the Annex to the Government Decision no. 573/1998 on the organization and functioning of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 345 345 of 11 September 1998, as amended by Government Decision no. 560/2013 .
---------- (3) The reasoned decision of the Review Commission shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days of delivery and may be appealed to the Bucharest Court within 30 days of the communication. (4) The judgment of the Bucharest Court can be appealed only to the Bucharest Court of Appeal. (5) The decisions of the Commission for review which are final and irrevocable shall be published in the B.O.P.I. within 60 days. + Article 17 ((1) The registration of topographies shall be published in B.O.P.I., within two months from the date of registration. (2) The holder is obliged to communicate, as soon as possible, to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks any changes in the name or name of the holder or his trustee. The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks operates the changes in the National Register of Topographies and publishes them in B.O.P.I., within 3 months of receiving the communication. + Article 18 (1) After the publication of the registration, the documentation from the regulatory deposit of the topographies can be found at the office of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks by the interested persons. (2) The documents in the regulatory deposit, which contain information declared by the applicant for protection as trade secrets, cannot be consulted. + Article 19 (1) Any interested person has the right to formulate in writing and reasoned to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks an application for revocation against decisions on applications for registration of topographies of semiconductor products, within 3 months after their publication, if the decisions were taken with non-compliance with art. 13. (2) The request for revocation will be settled, within 3 months from its registration with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, by the Review Commission of the Department of Appeals *) of the Office. Note
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* *) See the new organisational structure set out in the Annex to the Government Decision no. 573/1998 on the organization and functioning of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 345 345 of 11 September 1998, as amended by Government Decision no. 560/2013 .
---------- (3) The reasoned decision of the Commission for review shall be communicated to the parties within 15 days of delivery and shall be subject to the remedies provided for in art. 16 16 para. ((3) and (4). (4) The decisions on revocation, final and irrevocable, shall be published in B.O.P.I., within 60 days. + Chapter IV Rights + Article 20 Exclusive rights shall be extinguished 10 years after the first of the following dates: a) the end of the year when the topography was the subject of a commercial exploitation for the first time in the world b) the end of the year in which the regulatory deposit was constituted. + Article 21 (1) The holder of a registered topography shall have, for the duration of protection, the exclusive right of exploitation of the topography, as well as the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the following acts: a) reproduction of that topography, in so far as it is protected according to art. 3 3 para. ((1); b) commercial exploitation or import for this purpose of a topography or a semiconductor product manufactured using this topography. (2) It is exempted from the provisions of par. ((1): a) the reproduction of a topography by private title for non-commercial purposes; b) reproduction for the purpose of analysis, evaluation or education on concepts, processes, systems or techniques incorporated in topography or on topography itself; c) the documents on a protected topography and which was created starting from an analysis and evaluation of another topography, carried out according to lit. b). (3) The exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the acts provided in par. ((1) lit. b) is not applicable to acts committed after the topography or semiconductor product has been placed on the market in Romania or in the European Union, by the holder or with his consent. + Article 22 Exclusive rights provided in art. 21 21 are born: a) at the date of the regulatory deposit; b) on the date on which the topography was the subject of a commercial exploitation for the first time, anywhere in the world, if it is prior to the date referred to in point a). + Article 23 The holder has the right to mark the semiconductor products manufactured on the basis of the protected topography, with the capital. + Article 24 The creators of surveyors have the right to be mentioned the name and the quality of creator of the topography in the certificate of record of the topography and in the publications carried out by the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks on the topographies recorded. + Article 25 Creators of topographies, which, by virtue of the provisions of art 9, are not holders, are entitled to a remuneration that is established by contract concluded between them and the holder of the protected topography. + Article 26 (1) It does not constitute a violation of the rights of the holder of a protected topography exploiting the topography by the person who purchased the semiconductor product in good faith, without having the opportunity to know that the semiconductor product respectively incorporates a protected topography, illegally reproduced. From the date on which the person concerned became aware that the topography is protected, it no longer has the right to purchase, without the authorization of the holder, similar semiconductor products, but may continue the commercial exploitation of the products semiconductor, purchased or contracted prior to that date, provided that a fair compensation is paid to the holder. (2) Provisions of para. (1) are also applicable to the rights successors of the holder of the protected topography. + Article 27 For the period before the birth of exclusive rights, in accordance with the provisions 22, the person who is entitled to protection under this law and who may prove that a third party has fraudulently reproduced or commercially exploited or imported for these purposes the topography may seek damages according to the common law. + Chapter V Rights transmission + Article 28 The right to protection and the rights arising from the registration of a topography may be transmitted, in whole or in part, by assignment and by legal or testamentary succession. + Article 29 The rights conferred by the registration of a topography can be transmitted by granting exclusive or non-exclusive licenses. + Article 30 Transmission of rights provided in art. 28 and 29 produce effects to third parties only as of the date of publication in B.O.P.I. of the mention of the transmission registered with the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks. + Article 31 (1) The Bucharest Court may grant a compulsory exploitation license to persons who, with all their efforts, failed to obtain the authorization of the holder to exploit a protected topography, if: a) licensing is necessary in emergency situations concerning national defence and security, preventing or liquidating the effects of natural calamities, violation Competition law no. 21/1996 , republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, or non-compliance with national standards on air pollution; b) at least 4 years have passed since the start of the protection period and the topography has not been commercially exploited on the territory of Romania. (. Mandatory licences shall be non-exclusive and may only be transmitted together with the assets affected by their application. (3) The compulsory licenses granted shall be communicated to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, which shall register them in the National Register of topographies. (4) The beneficiary of the compulsory licence shall pay a fair remuneration to the holder. (5) The maintenance and duration of compulsory licences will be limited to the purposes for which they were granted. (6) Beneficiaries of the compulsory license may also be the Government or third parties authorized by it. + Article 32 (1) At the reasoned request submitted by the person concerned, the Bucharest Court may withdraw the compulsory licence when the circumstances leading to it have ceased to exist, provided that the legitimate interests of the the person who has acquired it will be protected in an appropriate manner. (2) The license will not be withdrawn if there is imminent repetition of the circumstances that led to it being granted. (3) The decisions of the Bucharest Tribunal regarding the granting of a mandatory license, as well as those regarding its withdrawal, will be appealed to the Bucharest Court of Appeal, within 15 days of communication. (4) The final and irrevocable decisions *) concerning the granting or, where applicable, the withdrawal of the compulsory licence shall be communicated by the person concerned to the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, who register them in the National Register of topographies and publish the mention of these judgments in B.O.P.I., within 30 days of communication. Note
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*) From the date of entry into force of the Code of Civil Procedure, the references in the normative acts to the "final and irrevocable" court decision or, as the case may be, "irrevocable" will be understood as made to the court decision "" definitive. "
---------- + Article 33 The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks publishes in B.O.P.I. all registered assignments and licenses regarding the protected topographies, as well as the changes related to them, within 3 months of their registration. + Chapter VI Cease and + Article 34 (1) The rights conferred on the holder by the registration of the topography shall be extinguished at the date of expiry of the protection period, the date on which the topography enters the public domain, and can be exploited by any person without (. The rights of the holder shall be extinguished before the expiry of the term of protection, if the conditions laid down in art. 11 lit. b). + Article 35 The holder may waive the protection of a topography registered at any time during the term of protection; the waiver has the effect of extinguishing the rights of the holder with all the consequences 34 34 para. (1), starting from the date of publication of the request for waiver in B.O.P.I. + Article 36 (1) Any interested person may ask the Bucharest Tribunal to cancel in whole or in part the registration of a topography, if it is found that the legal conditions for granting protection have not been met. The request for cancellation may be made during the entire period of protection of the topography. (2) The decisions of the Bucharest Tribunal can be appealed to the Bucharest Court of Appeal, within 30 days of communication. (3) The decisions of the Bucharest Court of Appeal can be appealed with appeal to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, within 30 days of communication. + Article 37 The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks shall register in the National Register of topographies and publish in B.O.P.I. all changes regarding the protection of topographies occurred as a result of the application of the provisions of art. 34-36. + Chapter VII Defending rights + Article 38 (1) Commercial exploitation or production without right of a protected topography or a semiconductor product in which a protected topography or a circuit element incorporating such a semiconductor product is incorporated, to the extent in which this element continues to contain a topography, if the act was committed after the date of publication of the registration of topography in the National Register of topographies, constitutes the crime of counterfeiting and is punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 2 2 years or a fine. ((2) Impacation shall remove criminal liability. + Article 39 Disputes concerning the quality of the creator of his or her tenured topography, as well as those with respect to rights born from the registration of topographies-including the property rights of the creators-or from the contracts of assignment or license are the jurisdiction of the courts. + Article 40 If, by final and irrevocable court decision *), it is found that a person other than the holder of the registration certificate is entitled to obtain the protection of the topography, the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks issue the registration certificate to the entitled person, register in the National Register of topographies the modification of the holder and publish it in B.O.P.I. Note
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* *) See footnote from art. 32 32 para. ((4).
---------- + Article 41 If the rights to a registered topography have ceased for a period of time as a result of the waiver of protection, forfeiture of rights or cancellation of registration, compensation and other patrimonial rights acquired by the holder, corresponding to the said period, shall be returned by him to the persons from whom they were acquired. + Article 42 At the request of the court, the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks is obliged to submit the documents, documents and information necessary to judge the case with which it was invested, which is returned to the termination of the trial. The citation in court will be done only for this purpose. + Article 43 (. Procedures concerning applications and certificates for the registration of topographies of semiconductor products shall be subject to taxes, in the amount and within the time limits laid down by law. The fees are payable to the account of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks. ((2) Taxes due by natural persons and legal entities with domicile or, as the case may be, based abroad shall be paid in foreign currency to the account of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks. (3) The failure to pay the fees at the stipulated legal deadlines shall entail failure to perform + Chapter VIII Final provisions + Article 44 This law shall enter into force within 3 months from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I* *). Note
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** **) Law no. 16/1995 was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 45 45 of 9 March 1995.
---------- This law transposes Council Directive no. 87 87 /54/EEC COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 16 December 1986 on the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products, published in the Official Journal of the European Communities L 024 of 27 January 1987. ------