Legislative Analysis Of The Protection Of Layout Design In China Under TRIPS

Since the emergence of integrated circuits more than half a century ago, the industry has experienced rapid developments. In recent years, the protection of layout-design, a key part and upstream industry of integrated circuits, has drawn the attention of many countries in the world. As a member of World Trade Organization, China has established its own protection system of layout-design, on the basis of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). However, due to the outdated of integrated circuits industry and related legal studies in China, there are a number of areas to be improved in the Chinese domestic protection system regarding layout-design, focused on the Regulation on the Protection of Layout of the People's Republic of China. This research analyzes the appropriateness of the protection mechanism of layout-design in TRIPS, and puts forward a few suggestions to improve the protection system of layout-design in China from the perspective of legislation and system construction.