Intellectual Property Protection of Layout Designs on Printed Circuit Boards – From Comparative and Chinese Perspectives

Abstract

This article reviews the positions in some key jurisdictions whether layout designs on printed circuit boards (PCBs) can be effectively protected under the regimes of copyright, patent and design as well as unfair competition law. The survey indicates a loophole in intellectual property (IP) laws that fails to offer sufficient protection to layout designs on PCBs. Accordingly, there may be good reasons for conferring IP protection in the layout designs on PCBs as a form of sui generis IP right.