Topographies of Semiconductor Products

– Law on the Protection of Topographies of Integrated Circuits No. 655-XIV of October 29, 1999, in force since January 6, 2000, last amended on June 24, 2016.

Filing

Applicant: individuals or legal entities.

Foreigners: enjoy same rights as nationals; must appoint a Moldovan agent.

Kinds of chip designs: the three-dimensional disposition, however expressed, of the elements, at least one of which is an active element, and of same or all of the interconnections of an integrated circuit, or such a three-dimensional composition prepared for an integrated circuit intended for manufacture.

Novelty: the first date of industrial use must not be earlier than two years before the application date and the first draft must not be older than fifteen years.

Filing Office: State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (no legalization required);
2. The technical documents, including graphic and text material, which enable the topography to be identified and the electronic function of the integrated circuit containing the topography to be determined;
3. The date on which the topography was created;
4. The date of first commercial exploitation of the topography if there has been exploitation;
5. 2 copies of the integrated circuit if it has been produced and exploited for commercial purposes.

Examination Procedure

Examination: a formal examination and a complete examination as to conflicting prior rights.

The formal examination is carried out one month after the filing date.

The complete examination is carried out after the completion of the formal examination, within two months from the date of formal examination completion.

Opposition: possible and may be filed at any time during the term of protection of the registered topography.

Granting

Registration: AGEPI shall effect the registration in the National Register of Topographies of Integrated Circuits.

Publication: two months after the granting official certificate of registration, in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property.

Beginning of protection: the protection begins on the date of the first commercial use, or, if there was no commercial use before the application date, on the application date.

Duration: ten years from the filing date or from the date of the first commercial use.

Annuities: there are no annuities, but only an application fee.

Assignment: possible and will be registered on request.

Licenses: possible and must be registered.

Modification of Protection after Registration

Cancellation: registration may be cancelled, either entirely or in part, on the basis of a notice of opposition filed by an interested party, if it is established that the prescribed conditions for the grant of protection were not fulfilled.