901. Definitions
(a) As used in this chapter -
(1) a "semiconductor chip product" is the final or intermediate
form of any product -
(A) having two or more layers of metallic, insulating, or
semiconductor material, deposited or otherwise placed on,
or etched away or otherwise removed from, a piece of semiconductor
material in accordance with a predetermined pattern; and
(B) intended to perform electronic circuitry functions;
(2) a "mask work" is a series of related
images, however fixed or encoded -
(A) having or representing the predetermined, three-dimensional
pattern of metallic, insulating, or semiconductor material
present or removed from the layers of a semiconductor chip
product; and
(B) in which series the relation of the images to one another
is that each image has the pattern of the surface of one form
of the semiconductor chip product;
(3) a mask work is "fixed" in a semiconductor chip product
when its embodiment in the product is sufficiently permanent
or stable to permit the mask work to be perceived or reproduced
from the product for a period of more than transitory duration;
(4) to "distribute" means to sell, or to lease, bail, or
otherwise transfer, or to offer to sell, lease, bail, or otherwise
transfer;
(5) to "commercially exploit" a mask work is to distribute
to the public for commercial purposes a semiconductor chip
product embodying the mask work; except that such term includes
an offer to sell or transfer a semiconductor chip product
only when the offer is in writing and occurs after the mask
work is fixed in the semiconductor chip product;
(6) the "owner" of a mask work is the person who created
the mask work, the legal representative of that person if
that person is deceased or under a legal incapacity, or a
party to whom all the rights under this chapter of such person
or representative are transferred in accordance with section
903(b); except that, in the case of a work made within
the scope of a person's employment, the owner is the employer
for whom the person created the mask work or a party to whom
all the rights under this chapter of the employer are transferred
in accordance with section 903(b);
(7) an "innocent purchaser" is a person who purchases a
semiconductor chip product in good faith and without having
notice of protection with respect to the semiconductor chip
product;
(8) having "notice of protection" means having actual knowledge
that, or reasonable grounds to believe that, a mask work is
protected under this chapter; and
(9) an "infringing semiconductor chip product" is a semiconductor
chip product which is made, imported, or distributed in violation
of the exclusive rights of the owner of a mask work under
this chapter.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, the distribution or importation
of a product incorporating a semiconductor chip product as
a part thereof is a distribution or importation of that semiconductor
chip product.
902. Subject matter of protection3
(a)(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), a mask
work fixed in a semiconductor chip product, by or under the
authority of the owner of the mask work, is eligible for protection
under this chapter if -
(A) on the date on which the mask work is registered under
section 908, or is first commercially
exploited anywhere in the world, whichever occurs first, the
owner of the mask work is (i) a national or domiciliary of
the United States, (ii) a national, domiciliary, or sovereign
authority of a foreign nation that is a party to a treaty
affording protection to mask works to which the United States
is also a party, or (iii) a stateless person, wherever that
person may be domiciled;
(B) the mask work is first commercially exploited in the
United States; or
(C) the mask work comes within the scope of a Presidential
proclamation issued under paragraph (2).
(2) Whenever the President finds that a foreign nation extends,
to mask works of owners who are nationals or domiciliaries
of the United States protection (A) on substantially the same
basis as that on which the foreign nation extends protection
to mask works of its own nationals and domiciliaries and mask
works first commercially exploited in that nation, or (B)
on substantially the same basis as provided in this chapter,
the President may by proclamation extend protection under
this chapter to mask works (i) of owners who are, on the date
on which the mask works are registered under section
908, or the date on which the mask works are first commercially
exploited anywhere in the world, whichever occurs first, nationals,
domiciliaries, or sovereign authorities of that nation, or
(ii) which are first commercially exploited in that nation.
The President may revise, suspend, or revoke any such proclamation
or impose any conditions or limitations on protection extended
under any such proclamation.
(b) Protection under this chapter shall not be available
for a mask work that -
(1) is not original; or
(2) consists of designs that are staple, commonplace, or
familiar in the semiconductor industry, or variations of such
designs, combined in a way that, considered as a whole, is
not original.
(c) In no case does protection under this chapter for a
mask work extend to any idea, procedure, process, system,
method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless
of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated,
or embodied in such work.
903. Ownership, transfer, licensing, and
recordation
(a) The exclusive rights in a mask work subject to protection
under this chapter belong to the owner of the mask work.
(b) The owner of the exclusive rights in a mask work may
transfer all of those rights, or license all or less than
all of those rights, by any written instrument signed by such
owner or a duly authorized agent of the owner. Such rights
may be transferred or licensed by operation of law, may be
bequeathed by will, and may pass as personal property by the
applicable laws of intestate succession.
(c)(1) Any document pertaining to a mask work may be recorded
in the Copyright Office if the document filed for recordation
bears the actual signature of the person who executed it,
or if it is accompanied by a sworn or official certification
that it is a true copy of the original, signed document. The
Register of Copyrights shall, upon receipt of the document
and the fee specified pursuant to section
908(d), record the document and return it with a certificate
of recordation. The recordation of any transfer or license
under this paragraph gives all persons constructive notice
of the facts stated in the recorded document concerning the
transfer or license.
(2) In any case in which conflicting transfers of the exclusive
rights in a mask work are made, the transfer first executed
shall be void as against a subsequent transfer which is made
for a valuable consideration and without notice of the first
transfer, unless the first transfer is recorded in accordance
with paragraph (1) within three months after the date on which
it is executed, but in no case later than the day before the
date of such subsequent transfer.
(d) Mask works prepared by an officer or employee of the
United States Government as part of that person's official
duties are not protected under this chapter, but the United
States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding
exclusive rights in mask works transferred to the Government
under subsection (b).
904. Duration of protection
(a) The protection provided for a mask work under this chapter
shall commence on the date on which the mask work is registered
under section 908, or the date
on which the mask work is first commercially exploited anywhere
in the world, whichever occurs first.
(b) Subject to subsection (c) and the provisions of this
chapter, the protection provided under this chapter to a mask
work shall end ten years after the date on which such protection
commences under subsection (a).
(c) All terms of protection provided in this section shall
run to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise
expire.
905. Exclusive rights in mask works
The owner of a mask work provided protection under this
chapter has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any
of the following:
(1) to reproduce the mask work by optical, electronic, or
any other means;
(2) to import or distribute a semiconductor chip product
in which the mask work is embodied; and
(3) to induce or knowingly to cause another person to do
any of the acts described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
906. Limitation on exclusive rights: reverse
engineering; first sale
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section
905, it is not an infringement of the exclusive rights
of the owner of a mask work for -
(1) a person to reproduce the mask work solely for the purpose
of teaching, analyzing, or evaluating the concepts or techniques
embodied in the mask work or the circuitry, logic flow, or
organization of components used in the mask work; or
(2) a person who performs the analysis or evaluation described
in paragraph (1) to incorporate the results of such conduct
in an original mask work which is made to be distributed.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section
905(2), the owner of a particular semiconductor chip product
made by the owner of the mask work, or by any person authorized
by the owner of the mask work, may import, distribute, or
otherwise dispose of or use, but not reproduce, that particular
semiconductor chip product without the authority of the owner
of the mask work.
907. Limitation on exclusive rights: innocent
infringement
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
an innocent purchaser of an infringing semiconductor chip
product -
(1) shall incur no liability under this chapter with respect
to the importation or distribution of units of the infringing
semiconductor chip product that occurs before the innocent
purchaser has notice of protection with respect to the mask
work embodied in the semiconductor chip product; and
(2) shall be liable only for a reasonable royalty on each
unit of the infringing semiconductor chip product that the
innocent purchaser imports or distributes after having notice
of protection with respect to the mask work embodied in the
semiconductor chip product.
(b) The amount of the royalty referred to in subsection
(a)(2) shall be determined by the court in a civil action
for infringement unless the parties resolve the issue by voluntary
negotiation, mediation, or binding arbitration.
(c) The immunity of an innocent purchaser from liability
referred to in subsection (a)(1) and the limitation of remedies
with respect to an innocent purchaser referred to in subsection
(a)(2) shall extend to any person who directly or indirectly
purchases an infringing semiconductor chip product from an
innocent purchaser.
(d) The provisions of subsections (a), (b), and (c) apply
only with respect to those units of an infringing semiconductor
chip product that an innocent purchaser purchased before having
notice of protection with respect to the mask work embodied
in the semiconductor chip product.
908. Registration of claims of protection
(a) The owner of a mask work may apply to the Register of
Copyrights for registration of a claim of protection in a
mask work. Protection of a mask work under this chapter shall
terminate if application for registration of a claim of protection
in the mask work is not made as provided in this chapter within
two years after the date on which the mask work is first commercially
exploited anywhere in the world.
(b) The Register of Copyrights shall be responsible for
all administrative functions and duties under this chapter.
Except for section 708, the
provisions of chapter 7 of this
title relating to the general responsibilities, organization,
regulatory authority, actions, records, and publications of
the Copyright Office shall apply to this chapter, except that
the Register of Copyrights may make such changes as may be
necessary in applying those provisions to this chapter.
(c) The application for registration of a mask work shall
be made on a form prescribed by the Register of Copyrights.
Such form may require any information regarded by the Register
as bearing upon the preparation or identification of the mask
work, the existence or duration of protection of the mask
work under this chapter, or ownership of the mask work. The
application shall be accompanied by the fee set pursuant to
subsection (d) and the identifying material specified pursuant
to such subsection.
(d) The Register of Copyrights shall by regulation set reasonable
fees for the filing of applications to register claims of
protection in mask works under this chapter, and for other
services relating to the administration of this chapter or
the rights under this chapter, taking into consideration the
cost of providing those services, the benefits of a public
record, and statutory fee schedules under this title. The
Register shall also specify the identifying material to be
deposited in connection with the claim for registration.
(e) If the Register of Copyrights, after examining an application
for registration, determines, in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter, that the application relates to a mask work
which is entitled to protection under this chapter, then the
Register shall register the claim of protection and issue
to the applicant a certificate of registration of the claim
of protection under the seal of the Copyright Office. The
effective date of registration of a claim of protection shall
be the date on which an application, deposit of identifying
material, and fee, which are determined by the Register of
Copyrights or by a court of competent jurisdiction to be acceptable
for registration of the claim, have all been received in the
Copyright Office.
(f) In any action for infringement under this chapter, the
certificate of registration of a mask work shall constitute
prima facie evidence (1) of the facts stated in the certificate,
and (2) that the applicant issued the certificate has met
the requirements of this chapter, and the regulations issued
under this chapter, with respect to the registration of claims.
(g) Any applicant for registration under this section who
is dissatisfied with the refusal of the Register of Copyrights
to issue a certificate of registration under this section
may seek judicial review of that refusal by bringing an action
for such review in an appropriate United States district court
not later than sixty days after the refusal. The provisions
of chapter 7 of title 5 shall apply
to such judicial review. The failure of the Register of Copyrights
to issue a certificate of registration within four months
after an application for registration is filed shall be deemed
to be a refusal to issue a certificate of registration for
purposes of this subsection and section
910(b)(2), except that, upon a showing of good cause,
the district court may shorten such four-month period.
909. Mask work notice4
(a) The owner of a mask work provided protection under this
chapter may affix notice to the mask work, and to masks and
semiconductor chip products embodying the mask work, in such
manner and location as to give reasonable notice of such protection.
The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation,
as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions
of notice for purposes of this section, but these specifications
shall not be considered exhaustive. The affixation of such
notice is not a condition of protection under this chapter,
but shall constitute prima facie evidence of notice of protection.
(b) The notice referred to in subsection (a) shall consist
of -
(1) the words "mask work", the symbol
*M*, or a symbol
(the letter M in a circle); and
(2) the name of the owner or owners of the mask work or
an abbreviation by which the name is recognized or is generally
known.
910. Enforcement of exclusive rights5
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person
who violates any of the exclusive rights of the owner of a
mask work under this chapter, by conduct in or affecting commerce,
shall be liable as an infringer of such rights. As used in
this subsection, the term "any person" includes any State,
any instrumentality of a State, and any officer or employee
of a State or instrumentality of a State acting in his or
her official capacity. Any State, and any such instrumentality,
officer, or employee, shall be subject to the provisions of
this chapter in the same manner and to the same extent as
any nongovernmental entity.
(b)(1) The owner of a mask work protected under this chapter,
or the exclusive licensee of all rights under this chapter
with respect to the mask work, shall, after a certificate
of registration of a claim of protection in that mask work
has been issued under section 908,
be entitled to institute a civil action for any infringement
with respect to the mask work which is committed after the
commencement of protection of the mask work under section
904(a).
(2) In any case in which an application for registration
of a claim of protection in a mask work and the required deposit
of identifying material and fee have been received in the
Copyright Office in proper form and registration of the mask
work has been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute
a civil action for infringement under this chapter with respect
to the mask work if notice of the action, together with a
copy of the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights,
in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The
Register may, at his or her option, become a party to the
action with respect to the issue of whether the claim of protection
is eligible for registration by entering an appearance within
sixty days after such service, but the failure of the Register
to become a party to the action shall not deprive the court
of jurisdiction to determine that issue.
(c)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States
Postal Service shall separately or jointly issue regulations
for the enforcement of the rights set forth in section
905 with respect to importation. These regulations may
require, as a condition for the exclusion of articles from
the United States, that the person seeking exclusion take
any one or more of the following actions:
(A) Obtain a court order enjoining, or an order of the International
Trade Commission under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930
excluding, importation of the articles.
(B) Furnish proof that the mask work involved is protected
under this chapter and that the importation of the articles
would infringe the rights in the mask work under this chapter.
(C) Post a surety bond for any injury that may result if
the detention or exclusion of the articles proves to be unjustified.
(2) Articles imported in violation of the rights set forth
in section 905 are subject
to seizure and forfeiture in the same manner as property imported
in violation of the customs laws. Any such forfeited articles
shall be destroyed as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury
or the court, as the case may be, except that the articles
may be returned to the country of export whenever it is shown
to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that
the importer had no reasonable grounds for believing that
his or her acts constituted a violation of the law.
911. Civil actions6
(a) Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action arising
under this chapter may grant temporary restraining orders,
preliminary injunctions, and permanent injunctions on such
terms as the court may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain
infringement of the exclusive rights in a mask work under
this chapter.
(b) Upon finding an infringer liable, to a person entitled
under section 910(b)(1) to
institute a civil action, for an infringement of any exclusive
right under this chapter, the court shall award such person
actual damages suffered by the person as a result of the infringement.
The court shall also award such person the infringer's profits
that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken
into account in computing the award of actual damages. In
establishing the infringer's profits, such person is required
to present proof only of the infringer's gross revenue, and
the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible expenses
and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than
the mask work.
(c) At any time before final judgment is rendered, a person
entitled to institute a civil action for infringement may
elect, instead of actual damages and profits as provided by
subsection (b), an award of statutory damages for all infringements
involved in the action, with respect to any one mask work
for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for
which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally,
in an amount not more than $250,000 as the court considers
just.
(d) An action for infringement under this chapter shall
be barred unless the action is commenced within three years
after the claim accrues.
(e)(1) At any time while an action for infringement of the
exclusive rights in a mask work under this chapter is pending,
the court may order the impounding, on such terms as it may
deem reasonable, of all semiconductor chip products, and any
drawings, tapes, masks, or other products by means of which
such products may be reproduced, that are claimed to have
been made, imported, or used in violation of those exclusive
rights. Insofar as practicable, applications for orders under
this paragraph shall be heard and determined in the same manner
as an application for a temporary restraining order or preliminary
injunction.
(2) As part of a final judgment or decree, the court may
order the destruction or other disposition of any infringing
semiconductor chip products, and any masks, tapes, or other
articles by means of which such products may be reproduced.
(f) In any civil action arising under this chapter, the
court in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs,
including reasonable attorneys' fees, to the prevailing party.
(g)(1) Any State, any instrumentality of a State, and any
officer or employee of a State or instrumentality of a State
acting in his or her official capacity, shall not be immune,
under the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of the United
States or under any other doctrine of sovereign immunity,
from suit in Federal court by any person, including any governmental
or nongovernmental entity, for a violation of any of the exclusive
rights of the owner of a mask work under this chapter, or
for any other violation under this chapter.
(2) In a suit described in paragraph (1) for a violation
described in that paragraph, remedies (including remedies
both at law and in equity) are available for the violation
to the same extent as such remedies are available for such
a violation in a suit against any public or private entity
other than a State, instrumentality of a State, or officer
or employee of a State acting in his or her official capacity.
Such remedies include actual damages and profits under subsection
(b), statutory damages under subsection (c), impounding and
disposition of infringing articles under subsection (e), and
costs and attorney's fees under subsection (f).
912. Relation to other laws7
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall affect any right or remedy
held by any person under chapters 1 through 8 or 10 of this
title, or under title 35.
(b) Except as provided in section
908(b) of this title, references to "this title" or "title
17" in chapters 1 through 8 or 10 of this title shall be deemed
not to apply to this chapter.
(c) The provisions of this chapter shall preempt the laws
of any State to the extent those laws provide any rights or
remedies with respect to a mask work which are equivalent
to those rights or remedies provided by this chapter, except
that such preemption shall be effective only with respect
to actions filed on or after January 1, 1986.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), nothing in this chapter
shall detract from any rights of a mask work owner, whether
under Federal law (exclusive of this chapter) or under the
common law or the statutes of a State, heretofore or hereafter
declared or enacted, with respect to any mask work first commercially
exploited before July 1, 1983.
913. Transitional provisions
(a) No application for registration under section
908 may be filed, and no civil action under section
910 or other enforcement proceeding under this chapter
may be instituted, until sixty days after the date of the
enactment of this chapter.
(b) No monetary relief under section
911 may be granted with respect to any conduct that occurred
before the date of the enactment of this chapter, except as
provided in subsection (d).
(c) Subject to subsection (a), the provisions of this chapter
apply to all mask works that are first commercially exploited
or are registered under this chapter, or both, on or after
the date of the enactment of this chapter.
(d)(1) Subject to subsection (a), protection is available
under this chapter to any mask work that was first commercially
exploited on or after July 1, 1983, and before the date of
the enactment of this chapter, if a claim of protection in
the mask work is registered in the Copyright Office before
July 1, 1985, under section 908.
(2) In the case of any mask work described in paragraph
(1) that is provided protection under this chapter, infringing
semiconductor chip product units manufactured before the date
of the enactment of this chapter may, without liability under
sections 910 and 911,
be imported into or distributed in the United States, or both,
until two years after the date of registration of the mask
work under section 908, but
only if the importer or distributor, as the case may be, first
pays or offers to pay the reasonable royalty referred to in
section 907(a)(2) to the mask
work owner, on all such units imported or distributed, or
both, after the date of the enactment of this chapter.
(3) In the event that a person imports or distributes infringing
semiconductor chip product units described in paragraph (2)
of this subsection without first paying or offering to pay
the reasonable royalty specified in such paragraph, or if
the person refuses or fails to make such payment, the mask
work owner shall be entitled to the relief provided in sections
910 and 911.
914. International transitional provisions8
(a) Notwithstanding the conditions set forth in subparagraphs
(A) and (C) of section 902(a)(1)
with respect to the availability of protection under this
chapter to nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign authorities
of a foreign nation, the Secretary of Commerce may, upon the
petition of any person, or upon the Secretary's own motion,
issue an order extending protection under this chapter to
such foreign nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign authorities
if the Secretary finds -
(1) that the foreign nation is making good faith efforts
and reasonable progress toward -
(A) entering into a treaty described in section
902(a)(1)(A); or
(B) enacting or implementing legislation that would be in
compliance with subparagraph (A) or (B) of section
902(a)(2); and
(2) that the nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign authorities
of the foreign nation, and persons controlled by them, are
not engaged in the misappropriation, or unauthorized distribution
or commercial exploitation, of mask works; and
(3) that issuing the order would promote the purposes of
this chapter and international comity with respect to the
protection of mask works.
(b) While an order under subsection (a) is in effect with
respect to a foreign nation, no application for registration
of a claim for protection in a mask work under this chapter
may be denied solely because the owner of the mask work is
a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of that foreign
nation, or solely because the mask work was first commercially
exploited in that foreign nation.
(c) Any order issued by the Secretary of Commerce under
subsection (a) shall be effective for such a period as the
Secretary designates in the order, except that no such order
may be effective after that date on which the authority of
the Secretary of Commerce terminates under subsection (e).
The effective date of any such order shall also be designated
in the order. In the case of an order issued upon the petition
of a person, such effective date may be no earlier than the
date on which the Secretary receives such petition.
(d)(1) Any order issued under this section shall terminate
if -
(A) the Secretary of Commerce finds that any of the conditions
set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a)
no longer exist; or
(B) mask works of nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign
authorities of that foreign nation or mask works first commercially
exploited in that foreign nation become eligible for protection
under subparagraph (A) or (C) of section
902(a)(1).
(2) Upon the termination or expiration of an order issued
under this section, registrations of claims of protection
in mask works made pursuant to that order shall remain valid
for the period specified in section
904.
(e) The authority of the Secretary of Commerce under this
section shall commence on the date of the enactment of this
chapter, and shall terminate on July 1, 1995.
(f) (1) The Secretary of Commerce shall promptly notify
the Register of Copyrights and the Committees on the Judiciary
of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the issuance
or termination of any order under this section, together with
a statement of the reasons for such action. The Secretary
shall also publish such notification and statement of reasons
in the Federal Register.
(2) Two years after the date of the enactment of this chapter,
the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Register
of Copyrights, shall transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary
of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on
the actions taken under this section and on the current status
of international recognition of mask work protection. The
report shall include such recommendation for modifications
of the protection accorded under this chapter to mask works
owned by nationals, domiciliaries, or sovereign authorities
of foreign nations as the Secretary, in consultation with
the Register of Copyrights, considers would promote the purposes
of this chapter and international comity with respect to mask
work protection. Not later than July 1, 1994, the Secretary
of Commerce, in consultation with the Register of Copyrights,
shall transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the House of Representatives a report updating the matters
contained in the report transmitted under the preceding sentence.
Chapter 9 Endnotes
1In 1984, the Semiconductor
Chip Protection Act amended title 17 of the United States
Code to add a new chapter 9 entitled "Protection of Semiconductor
Chip Products." Pub. L. No. 98-620, 98 Stat. 3347.
2In 1997, the heading for section
903 in the table of sections was amended by adding ",
transfer, licensure, and recordation" at the end thereof,
in lieu of "and transfer." Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529,
1535. The Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical
Amendments Act of 2002 amended the heading for section 903
in the table of sections for chapter 9 by substituting "licensing"
for "licensure." Pub. L. No. 107-273, 116 Stat. 1758, 1910.
3In 1987, section
902 was amended by adding the last sentence in subsection
(a)(2). Pub. L. No. 100-159, 101 Stat. 899, 900.
4In 1997, section
909 was amended by correcting misspellings in subsection
(b)(1). Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529, 1535.
5In 1990, the Copyright Remedy
Clarification Act amended section
910 by adding the last two sentences to subsection (a).
Pub. L. No. 101-553, 104 Stat. 2749, 2750. In 1997, a technical
correction amended section 910(a) by capitalizing the first
word of the second sentence. Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat.
1529 1535.
6In 1990, the Copyright Remedy
Clarification Act amended section
911 by adding subsection (g). Pub. L. No. 101-553, 104
Stat. 2749, 2750.
7In 1988, the Judicial Improvements
and Access to Justice Act amended section
912 by deleting subsection (d) and redesignating subsection
(e) as subsection (d). Pub. L. No. 100-702, 102 Stat. 4642,
4672. The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 amended section
912 by inserting "or 10" after "8" in subsections (a) and
(b). Pub. L. No. 102-563, 106 Stat. 4237, 4248.
8In 1987, section
914 was amended in subsection (e) by inserting "on July
1, 1991" in lieu of "three years after such date of enactment"
and by adding the last sentence to subsection (f)(2). Pub.
L. No. 100-159, 101 Stat. 899. The Semiconductor International
Protection Extension Act of 1991 amended section 914 by inserting
"or implementing" after "enacting" in the first sentence of
subsection (a)(1)(B), by changing the date in subsection (e)
to "July 1, 1995" and by changing the date in the last sentence
of subsection (f)(2) to "July 1, 1994." Pub. L. No. 102-64,
105 Stat. 320.
On July 1, 1995, section 914
expired as required by subsection (e). It was rendered largely
unnecessary upon the entry into force on January 1, 1995,
of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPs)(Annex 1C to the World Trade Organization
(WTO) Agreement). Part II, section 6 of TRIPs protects semiconductor
chip products and was the basis for Presidential Proclamation
No. 6780, March 23, 1995, under section 902(a)(2) extending
protection to all present and future WTO members (146 countries
as of April 4, 2003), as of January 1, 1996. See Part IV of
the Appendix.
For a discussion of Congressional findings regarding extending
protection to semiconductor chip products of foreign entities,
see Pub. L. No. 100-159, 101 Stat. 899, and the Semiconductor
International Protection Extension Act of 1991, Pub. L. No.
102-64, 105 Stat. 320.5
|