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Belgium provides a sui-generis protection system for topographies of semi-conductor products (known as chips) since the European Directive of 16/12/1986 has been changed into the Belgian Law of 10/1/1990.

1. Definition

Chips or integrated circuits, as they are sometimes called, consist of very small electronic components such as transistors, condensers and resistors provided on very small and thin rectangular slices of semiconductor material.

2. What is protected?

Only the three-dimensional structure of chips is protected, not the chip as such. The concepts represented in the topography, the techniques or the encoded information can therefore not be taken into consideration for protection.

Protection is only offered to chips registered for the first time after the corresponding legislation came into force, in other words, after 5/2/90.

3. Who is protected?

Protection is given to the maker of the topography. In case an employee designed the chip in the exercise of his duties, the corresponding rights belong to the employer. Whenever the topography has been designed on demand, rights are assigned to the customer.

The application of the commonly known principle of reciprocity in the EC requires that the individual or legal entity relying upon this protection according to Belgian Law, should be either an EC citizen or a person having his commercial or industrial seat in the EC.

In all other cases, one should consider if there are any existing treaties between Belgium and the land of origin.

4. Conditions for protection

To obtain protection, no formalities are required.

It is, however, necessary that topographies are new and the result of an inventor's activity.

5. Duration of protection

The topography's first registration gives rise to exclusive rights. The way in which registration is performed is of no importance.

Protection is given for a period of ten years after expiry of the calendar year wherein the topography was commercialised for the first time. Where commercialisation takes place is of no importance.

In the absence of exploitation, rights lapse even so after a 15' year term starting from the first registration.

This means that a topography can be protected for a period no longer more than 25 years.

6. Co-occurrence with other intellectual property rights

Co-occurrence with other intellectual property rights is possible. It is, for instance, perfectly possible for one single product to call in protection provided by the chips law as well as protection related to an existing patent. Protection offered by other intellectual property rights can also be called in at any times.