Protection shall not be asserted under this Act for a circuit layout not alreadyregistered.
A certificate shall be issued upon registration of a circuit layout.

A circuit layout protected under this Act shall meet the following requirements:
1.The design is the result of the creator's intellect and efforts, and not plagiarism; and
2.At the time of creation, the circuit layout was not ordinary, common or knownto the integrated circuit industry and designers of circuit layouts.
If a circuit layout is designed by combining ordinary, common or knowncomponents or interconnections, protection for the circuit layout shall beextended to the combination as a whole that has met the requirements prescribedin the preceding Paragraph.

An owner of circuit layout rights shall have the exclusive rights to precludeothers from committing the following unauthorized acts:
1.To reproduce the circuit layout in whole or in part; or
2.To import or distribute for commercial purpose the circuit layout or anintegrated circuit containing the circuit layout.

Circuit layout rights shall not apply to any of the following:
1.To reproduce a circuit layout of another so as to evaluate or analyze thesame for research, educational or reverse engineering purposes;
2.To create a circuit layout conforming to the requirements of Article 16 ofthis Act, or to produce an integrated circuit embodying said circuit layout byusing the results of evaluation or analysis as referred to in the preceding Item;
3.To import or distribute legally possessed circuit layouts or integrated circuitsby an owner of legally reproduced circuit layouts or integrated circuits;
4.To import or distribute illegally produced integrated circuits by an ownerwho obtained without knowledge that the integrated circuits have infringedanother's circuit layout rights; or
5.To independently create, by a third party, an identical circuit layout orintegrated circuit.

The duration of a circuit layout shall be ten (10) years commencing from theearlier of the following:
1.Filing date of the circuit layout registration application; or
2.Date of the first commercial exploitation.

If the name or title of a registered owner of circuit layout rights is changed, anapplication for a change of records shall be made.

For circuit layout rights jointly owned by two or more parties, any assignment grant of license or creation of pledge of the circuit layout rights shall have theunanimous consent of all joint owners.
Without the consent of all joint owners of circuit layout rights, no single jointowner shall assign, license or create a pledge in the joint owner's share of theownership; no joint owner shall refuse consent without proper reasons.
If a joint owner of circuit layout rights abandons the owner's share, the abandonedshare shall be allocated to the other joint owners according to the percentage oftheir respective shares in the joint ownership.
The preceding Paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to a case where jointowner dies without an heir or dissolves without a successor.

For any of the following events related to circuit layout rights, parties concernedshall jointly sign and apply for recordation, accompanied by contracts or otherdocumentary evidence, with the competent authority of circuit layout affairs;otherwise, these parties shall have no locus standi against third parties whohave no notice of the following:
1.Assignment;
2.License; or
3.Creation, transfer, alteration or extinguishment of a pledge.
For an inheritance of circuit layout rights, an application, accompanied bydocumentary evidence, shall be filed with the competent authority of circuit layoutaffairs for an issuance of a replacement certificate of registration.

For a creation of a pledge in circuit layout rights, the creditor shall not makeuse of the circuit layout unless otherwise provided by a contract.

For a use to promote nonprofit public interests in a circuit layout, the agencyin charge of circuit layout affairs may, upon application, grant to an applicanta compulsory license to the circuit layout rights. The compulsory license shallbe granted primarily to supply the demand of the domestic market.
If an owner of the circuit layout rights is found to have engaged in unfaircompetition, which has been irrevocably confirmed by the court or the FairTrade Commission of the Executive Yuan, the competent authority of circuit layoutaffairs may, upon application, grant an applicant a compulsory license to thecircuit layout rights, notwithstanding the absence of the condition set forth in thepreceding Paragraph.
Upon receipt of an application for a compulsory license, the competent authority ofcircuit layout affairs shall send a copy of the application to the owner(s) of thecircuit layout rights and require the owner(s) to submit a defense statement withinthree (3) months. If no defense statement is filed after the expiration of said timeperiod, the competent authority may continue with the process.
A grant of a compulsory license right shall not preclude others from obtaininganother compulsory license for the same circuit layout rights.
The licensee(s) of a compulsory license right shall pay the owner(s) of the circuitlayout rights appropriate compensation. If there is a dispute, the amount ofcompensation shall be set by the competent authority of circuit layout affairs.
A compulsory license right shall not be assigned, licensed, or the subject of a creation of a pledge unless the compulsory license is transferred together withthe related business.
Upon the termination of the reason(s) for compulsory license as set forth inParagraphs One and Two of this Article, the competent authority of circuit layoutaffairs may, upon application, terminate the compulsory license.
If a licensee of a compulsory license right acts contrary to the purpose of thecompulsory license, the competent authority of circuit layout affairs may, uponapplication by the owner of the circuit layout rights or by virtue of the officialauthority, revoke the compulsory license.

Unless otherwise prescribed in this Act, the rights in a circuit layout shall extinguish under any one of the following:
1.If the term of the circuit layout right expires, the right shall extinguish from the day after the expiration date;
2.If an owner of the circuit layout rights dies without an heir, the circuit layout rights shall extinguish on the date when the rights are vested with the laws;
3.If a legal entity dissolves, the circuit layout rights are vested with the local governing body in accordance with the laws; or
4.If the rights in a circuit layout are abandoned by the owner, the rights shall extinguish from the date on the written declaration.

An owner of circuit layout rights shall not abandon the circuit layout rights without obtaining the consent of the owner's licensee(s) or creditor(s) of the pledge.
Circuit layout rights shall not be abandoned in part.

Under any of following circumstances, the competent authority of circuit layout affairs shall, ex officio or upon application by an interested party, revoke the registration of a circuit layout, and recall the registration certificate within a designated period after the revocation has become irrevocable; if the certificate cannot be recalled, it shall be announced as void through public notice.
1.A final judgment has been rendered, holding that circuit layout right shall not be accorded;
2.Registration of a circuit layout is in violation of Articles 5 to 7, 10, 13, 38 or 39;or
3.Circuit layout rights are in violation of Article 16 of this Act.
Under the circumstances as set forth in the preceding Paragraph, the competent authority of circuit layout affairs shall serve the right owner or its agent with a copy of the application or a copy of the ex officio examination statement and require that a defense statement be submitted within thirty (30) days; if the defense statement fails to be submitted within the given time period, the competent authority of circuit layout affairs shall proceed with the examination.
With respect to the time period referred to in the preceding Paragraph, the right owner may apply for an extension by filing a written statement providing the reasons for such the extension in advance. However, extension shall only be permitted once.

Applications for circuit layout registrations that conform to provisions of this Act shall be entered into the official Register of Rights in Circuit Layouts and published in an official gazette by the competent authority of circuit layout affairs.
The preceding Paragraph shall apply to revocations, extinguishments or abandonments of circuit layout rights.