On 01/03/2020 23:00, William Levak wrote: > > To clarify what I said: The ARTWORK that produced IC masks is > copyrightable, the same as any other artwork. > That is not my understanding of the legal situation prior to 1984 and subsequently. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit_layout_design_protection <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit_layout_design_protection> Because of the functional nature of the mask geometry, the designs cannot be effectively protected undercopyright <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright>law (except perhaps as decorative art). Similarly, because individual lithographic mask works are not clearly protectable subject matter; they also cannot be effectively protected underpatent <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent>law, although any processes implemented in the work may be patentable. The United States Code (USC) defines a mask work as "a series of related images, however fixed or encoded, 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 in which the relation of the images to one another is such that each image has the pattern of the surface of one form of the semiconductor chip product" [(17 U.S.C. § 901(a)(2))]. Mask work exclusive rights were first granted in the US by theSemiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor_Chip_Protection_Act_of_1984>. According to17 U.S.C. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_17_of_the_United_States_Code>§ 904 <https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/904>, rights in semiconductor mask works last 10 years. This contrasts with aterm of 95 years <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono_Copyright_Term_Extension_Act>for modern copyrighted works with a corporate authorship; alleged infringement of mask work rights are also not protected by a statutoryfair use <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use>defense, nor by the typicalbackup <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backup>copy exemptions that17 U.S.C. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_17_of_the_United_States_Code>§ 117 <https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/117>provides forcomputer software <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_software>.Received on 2020-05-30 01:10:59
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