Integrated circuit topography
Circuit products are made up of layers of various electronic components in precise orientations. Integrated circuit topographies (ICT) protect the three-dimensional configurations of electronic components used in integrated circuit products or the layout designs. A Canadian ICT gives the owner the right to prevent others from using, manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting the registered ICT or any product which uses the ICT for up to 10 years. ICT protection must be obtained on a country by country basis and may vary in length or availability by country. ICTs do not prevent others from using equivalent integrated circuits which employ different topographies.
To obtain an ICT, the design must be original. To be original, the ICT must have required intellectual effort, and not just be a reproduction of all, or a substantial part, of another topography. ICTs can be obtained for specific parts of a larger topography structure. An application for an ICT must be filed within 2 years of the first common use of the topography.
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