Under s. 6 of the Protection of Layout Designs (topographies) of Integrated Circuits Act makes it unlawful to perform certain acts without the authorisation of the right holder. This includes:
(a) the reproduction, whether by incorporation in an integrated circuit or otherwise, of the protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof, except the reproduction of any part that does not comply with the requirement of originality defined in section 4;
(b) the importation, sale or other distribution, for commercial purposes, of the protected layout-design, an integrated circuit in which the protected layout-design is incorporated, or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit in so far as it continues to contain an unlawfully reproduced layout-design.
Where an infringement has occurred it is open to the right holder to apply to the Court for relief including an injunction, damages, an order for the seizure, forfeiture or destruction of the infringing goods or any other remedy provided for in law.
Section 7 provides that the term of protection is for ten years after the date of commencement. Protection commences:
(a) on the date of the first commercial exploitation, anywhere in the world, of the layout-design by, or with the consent of, the right holder, provided that an application for protection is filed by the right holder with the Registrar within the time limit referred to in section 8(3); or
(b) on the filing date accorded the application for the registration of the layout-design filed by the right holder if the layout-design has not been previously exploited commercially anywhere in the world.
