IP/N/1/IRL/1

Ireland

European Communities (Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products) (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 310 of 1993)

These Regulations amend the European Communities (Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products) Regulations 1988 (S.I. No. 101 of 1988) and give effect to Council Decisions 93/16/EEC and 93/17/EEC of 21 December 1992 and Council Decision of 27 September 1993 amending Decision 93/16/EEC, which provide for the extension of the legal protection of topographies of semiconductor products, under EC Directive 87/54/EEC of 16 December 1986, to certain countries and territories. These Regulations also extend permanent protection to countries and territories which have extended protection at an acceptable level and on a permanent basis to Community topographies. These Regulations also extend protection on a temporary basis to the United States until 31 December 1993 and to certain overseas territories until 31 December 1994, subject to a reciprocity requirement that companies or other legal persons of a member State must enjoy similar protection in the United States or other overseas territory concerned. The territories listed in the Second Schedule which satisfy the reciprocity requirement shall be determined by the Commission and communicated to member States. These regulations also declare that the provisions of previous S.I.'s, which extended topography protection in accordance with earlier Council Decisions, should have effect from the dates which were laid down in the Council Decisions rather than from the dates of the S.I.'s. They further provide that future decisions of the Council on the extension of topography protection will have effect in Ireland without the need to draft new S.I.'s to implement these decisions.