On September 19, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law On amending legislative acts On improving the Protection of the rights to semiconductor Integrated circuits layout design.
The document fulfills the obligations of Ukraine enshrined in the Association Agreement with the European Union (Articles 224 – 227), and also the provisions of Council Directive No. 87/54/EEC of 16 December 1986 on the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products are implemented in national legislation.
Thus, the legislation updates the terminology, clarifies the conditions for providing legal protection, changes the requirements for the application for registration and improves the procedure for examining applications.
The exclusive intellectual property rights of the owner of a topography or semiconductor product produced by using a topography include the ability to permit or prohibit commercial use or import for this purpose.
The rights expire ten years from the date of application. Moreover, this period may begin to deduct from the end of the calendar year in which the topography was first used on a commercial basis in any country in the world.