WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/MUS/L/2
26 May 2003
(03-2820)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
MAURITIUS
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Layout-Designs (Topographies) of
Integrated Circuits Act 2002, Act Nº 24 of 2002, as  notified by Mauritius under Article 63.2 of the
Agreement (see document IP/N/1/MUS/2).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
MAURICE
Le présent document contient le texte1 de la Loi de 2002 sur les schémas de configuration
(topographies) de circuits intégrés, Loi n° 24 de 2002, notifiée par Maurice au titre de l'article 63:2 del'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/MUS/2).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
MAURICIO
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de Esquemas de Trazado
(Topografías) de Circuitos Integrados de 2002, Ley Nº 24 de 2002, que Mauricio notificó de
conformidad con lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase eldocumento IP/N/1/MUS/2).
                                                     
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
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THE LAYOUT-DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES)
OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS ACT
Act No. 24 of 2002
I assent
K.OFFMANN
8th August 2002       President of the Republic
_____________
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
PART I  -  PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART  II - NATURE AND EXTENT OF PROTECTION
3. Protection
4. Originality
5. Right to protection
6. Effect of protection
7. Commencement and duration of protection
PART  III  -  REGISTRATION
8. Application
9. Registration
10. Right to transfer
11. Changes in ownership12. Contractual licence
13. Cancellation
PART  IV  -  MISCELLANEOUS
14. Representation
15. Unfair Practice
16. Offences17. Exploitation by a government agency or third person
18. Exercise of discretionary powers
19. Competence of Tribunal
20. Regulations
21. CommencementIP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 3
An Act
To provide for the protection of layout-designs
(topographies) of integrated circuits
ENACTED by the Parliament of Mauritius, as follows -
PART I  -  PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Layout-Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits
Act 2002.
2. Interpretation
In this Act –
“competent authority” has the same meaning as in the Patents, Industrial Designs and
Trademarks Act 2002;
“Controller” means the Controller of Industr ial Property, appointed under section 3 of
the Patents, Industrial Desi gns and Trademarks Act 2002;
“integrated circuit” means a product, in its final form or an intermediate form in which the
elements, at least one of which is an active element, and some or all of the interconnections ofwhich are integrally formed on a piece of material and which is intended to perform an
electronic function;
“layout-design” is synonymous with “topography” and means the three-dimensional
disposition, however expressed, of the elements, at least one of which is an active element,
and some or all of the inter-connections of an integrated circuit, or such a three-dimensional
disposition prepared for an integrated circuit intended for manufacture;
“legal practitioner” has the same meaning as in the Law Practitioners Act;
“Minister” means the Minister to whom the resp onsibility for the subject of international trade
is assigned;
“Register” means the Register of Layout-Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits;
“right holder” means the person who is to be regarded as the beneficiary of the
protection referred to in section 5;
“Tribunal” means the Tribunal set up under section 9 of the Pa tents, Industrial
Designs and Trademarks Act 2002;IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 4
PART  II - NATURE AND EXTENT OF PROTECTION
3. Protection
(1) Subject to subsection (2), registration for protection under this Act may be  -
(a) obtained for layout-designs of integrated circuits where they are
original within the meaning of section 4;
(b) applied for only where -
(i) the layout-design has not yet been commercially exploited; or
(ii) has been commercially exploited for not more than 2 years anywhere
in the world.
(2) No protection under this Act shall be available for any layout-design which has been
commercially exploited anywhere in the world for more than 2 years prior to the entry into force of
this Act.
4. Originality
(1) A layout-design shall be considered to be original where it is the result of its
creator’s own intellectual effort and is not  commonplace among creators of layout-designs
and manufacturers of integrated circuits at the time of its creation.
(2) Where a layout design consists of a combination of its elements and inter-connections
that are commonplace, it shall be protected only where the combination taken as a whole is original
within the meaning of subsection (1).
5. Right to protection
(1) The right to layout-design protection shall belong to the creator of the layout-
design and may be assigned or transferred by succession.
(2) Where several persons have  jointly created a layout-design, the right to layout-
design protection shall belong to them jointly.
(3) Where the layout-design has been created in execution of a commission or an
employment contract, the right to the layout-design protection shall, in the absence of any express
provisions to the contrary, belong to the person who commissioned the work or to the employer.
6. Effect of protection
(1) Any registration for protection under this Act shall not depend upon whether
or not the integrated circuit which incorporates the protected layout-design is itselfincorporated in an article.IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 5
(2) Subject to subsection (3) and to section 16, any act of -
(a) reproducing, whether by incorporation in an integrated circuit or otherwise,
the protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof, except the act of
reproducing any part that does not comp ly with the requirement of originality
referred to in section 4;
(b) importing, selling or otherwise distributing for commercial purposes 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,
shall, where performed without the authorization of the right holder, be unlawful.
(3) No act  –
(a) of reproduction of the protected layout-design for private purposes or for the
sole purpose of evaluation, analysis, research or teaching;
(b) of incorporation in an integrated circuit of a layout-design created on the
basis of such analysis or evaluation and which is itself original within the
meaning of section 4 or the performance of any of the acts referred to insubsection (2) in respect of that layout-design;
(c) referred to in subsection (2)(b), where the act is performed in respect of -
(i) a protected layout-design; or
(ii) an integrated circuit in which such a layout-design is incorporated,
which has been put on the market by or with the consent                           of
the right holder;
(d) referred to in subsection (2)(b), and subject to subsection (4) in respect of an
integrated circuit incorporating an unlawfully reproduced layout-design or
any article incorporating such an integrated circuit where the person
performing or ordering such an act did not know and had no reasonable
grounds to know, when acquiring the integrated circuit or the article
incorporating such an integrated circ uit, that it incorporated an unlawfully
reproduced layout-design;
(e) in respect of an identical layout design which is original and has been created
independently by a third party,
shall be protected under this Act.
(4) Where, after the time that the person referred to in subsection 3(d) has
received sufficient notice that the layout-design was unlawfully reproduced, that person may
perform any of those acts only with respect to the stock on hand or ordered before such timeand shall be liable to pay to the right holder a sum equivalent to a reasonable royalty such aswould be payable under a freely negotiated licence in respect of such a layout-design;IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 6
7. Commencement and duration of protection
(1) Any protection granted in respect of a layout-design under this Act shall commence –
(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 Controller
within the time limit referred to in section 3(2); or
(b) on the filing date accorded to 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.
(2) Any protection granted in respect of a layout-design under this Act shall
terminate at the end of the tenth calendar year after the date of commencementof protection.
PART  III  -  REGISTRATION
8. Application
(1) An application for the registration of a layout-design shall be made on the
prescribed form and shall be filed with the Controller.
(2) A separate application shall be filed in  respect of different layout-designs.
(3) The application shall –
(a) contain a request for registration of the layout-design in the register and a
brief and precise designation of the layout-design;
(b) indicate the name, address, nationality of the applicant and if different from
the address, the habitual residence of the applicant;
(c) be accompanied by the authorization of the agent appointing the
representative of the applicant, if any;
(d) subject to subsection (4), be accompanied by a copy or drawing of the layout-
design together with information defining the electronic function which the
integrated circuit is intended to perform;
(e) specify the date of the first commercial exploitation of the layout-design
anywhere in the world or indicate that such exploitation has not commenced;and
(f) provide particulars establishing the right to protection under section 6.
(4) Any copy or drawing referred in subsection (3) (d) may omit such parts of the
copy or drawing that relate to the manner of manufacture of the integrated circuit, providedthat the parts submitted are sufficient to allow the identification of the layout-design;IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 7
(5) Where an application does not dul y comply with the requirements of
subsection (3), the Controller shall immediately notify the applicant of the defects and invitehim to correct them within 2 months.
(6) Where the defects are corrected within the time limit specified under subsection (5),
the Controller shall accord as the filing date, the date of receipt of the application, provided that, at the
time of receipt, the application contained an expre ss or implicit indication that the registration of a
layout-design is requested and indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be established and
was accompanied by a copy or drawing of the layout-design.
(7) Where the requirements of subsection (6) were not complied with at the date of
receipt of the application but are complied with w ithin the time limit, the date of receipt of the
required correction shall be deemed to be the filing date of the application.
(8) The Controller shall confirm the filing date and communicate it to the applicant.
(9) Where the defects are not corrected within the time limit, the application shall be deemed
not to have been filed.
(10) Every application for protection of a layout-design shall be subject to the
payment of the prescribed fee.
(11) Where the fee is not paid, the Controller shall notify the applicant that the application
shall be deemed not to have been filed unless paymen t is made within 2 months from the date of the
notification and, where the application fee is not pa id within that time limit, the application shall be
deemed not to have been filed.
9. Registration
(1) The Controller shall maintain a Register in which he shall record all matters
required to be recorded by this Act.
(2) Where an application complies with the requirements of section 8, the Controller
shall register the layout-design in the Register wi thout examination of the originality of the layout-
design, the applicant’s entitlement to protection, or the correctness of the facts stated in the
application.
(3) The Register shall contain the number, title, filing date and, where appropriate, the
date of the first commercial exploitation of the layout-design anywhere in the world as well as thename and address of the right holder and other prescribed particulars.
(4) Any interested person may consult the Register and obtain extracts therefrom, subject
to the payment of the prescribed fee.
(5) The registration of a layout-design shall be published in the Government Gazette.IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 8
10. Right to transfer
(1) Where the essential content of the application has been taken from the layout-
design of another person without his consent, that other person may, make a request to the
Controller in writing to transfer the application to him.
(2) Where the application has already resulted in a registration, that other person may,
within 3 years from the publication of the registration, make a request to the Controller in writing to
transfer the registration to him and to rectify the entry in the Register accordingly.
(3) The Controller shall forthwith send a copy  of the request under subsection (2) to the
right holder, and the right holder shall, within th e prescribed period and in the prescribed manner,
send to the Controller and to the person requesting the transfer a counter-statement of the grounds on
which he relies.
(4) Where the right holder sends a counter-statement, the Controller shall after hearing
the parties, decide whether the application or registration should be transferred and, where applicable,
whether the Register should be rectified.
11. Changes in ownership
(1) Any application for a change in the ownership of a protected layout-design
shall be made, by any interested party, in writing to the Controller.
(2) Where an application has been made under subsection (1), the Controller shall record
it and cause it to be published; and such change shall have no effect against third parties until it has
been recorded and published.
12. Contractual Licence
Any licence concerning a layout-design shall, upon registration of the layout-design, be
submitted to the Controller who shall keep its contents confidential but shall publish a reference
thereto and the licence contract shall have no effect against third parties until such submission has
been made.
13.      Cancellation
(1) Any interested person may apply to the Tribunal for the cancellation of the
registration of a layout-design on the ground that –
(a) the layout-design is not entitled to protection under sections 3 and 4;
(b) the right holder is not entitled to protection under section 5; or
(c) the application was not filed within the time limit referred to in sections 3(2)
and 7(1)(a) where the layout-design has been commercially exploited,anywhere in the world, before the filing of the application for registration of
the layout-design.
(2) Where the grounds for cancellation are established with respect only to a part
of the layout-design, only the corresponding pa rt of the registration shall be cancelled.IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 9
(3) The registration of any layout-design, or part thereof, which is cancelled, shall be
regarded as null and void from the date of the commencement of protection.
(5) The Registrar of the Tribunal shall notify the Controller of the decision of the
Tribunal or the decision on any appeal therefrom and the Controller shall record andpublish a reference thereto as soon as possible.
(6) 
PART  IV  -  MISCELLANEOUS
14. Representation
Where an applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside
Mauritius, he shall be represented by a legal practitioner resident and practising in Mauritius.
15. Unfair Practice
(1) Any act described under section 6(2) shall amount to an act of unfair practice and
may give rise to a claim in damages.
(2) On the request of the right holder, or of his licensee, if the latter has requested the
right holder to institute court proceedings for a specific relief, and the right holder has refused orfailed to do so within a reasonable time, the co urt may grant an injunction to prevent an unfair
practice or an imminent unfair practice, award damages and grant any other remedy as it thinks fit.
(3) Any claim in respect of an unfair practice shall be instituted in accordance
with the provisions of the Protection Against Unfair Practices (Industrial Property Rights)
Act 2002.
(4) Any proceeding under subsection (2) may be initiated only after an application for
registration of the layout-design has been filed with the Controller.
16. Offences
(1) Any person who, without authorization, knowingly performs any act which is
unlawful under section 6(2) shall commit an offe nce and shall, on conviction, be liable to a
fine not exceeding 250,000 rupees and to impri sonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.
(2)  The court may also order the seizure, fo rfeiture and destruction of the layout-
designs, integrated circuits or articles concerned and of any materials or implements, thepredominant use of which has been in the commission of the offence.
17. Exploitation by a government agency or third person
(1) Where the competent authority–
(a) is satisfied that the public interest, in particular, national security, nutrition,
health or the development of other vital sectors of the national economy
requires the exploitation of a protected layout-design for public non-commercial use; or
(b) has, on an application of any party, determined that the manner of
exploitation of a protected layout-design, by the right holder or his licensee,IP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 10
is anti-competitive; and after such de termination, the competent authority is
satisfied that it is necessary to remedy such
anti-competitive practice,
it may, upon a request made, even without the authorisation of the right holder, authorise a
Government agency or a third person to exploit the layout-design.
(2) The exploitation of the layout-design under subsection (1) shall
be –
(a) limited in scope and duration, to the purpose for which it was authorised;
(b) non-exclusive; and
(c) subject to the payment, to the right holder, of an adequate remuneration
which takes into account the economic value of the  authorisation of the
competent authority and, where applicable, the need to correct anti-competitive practices.
(3) Upon request of the right holder or of the beneficiary of the authorisation, the
competent authority may, after hearing the parties, vary the terms of the decision authorisingthe exploitation of the layout-design to the extent that changed circumstances justify suchvariation.
(4) Upon the request of the right holder, the competent authority shall terminate
the non-voluntary licence where he is satisfied that the circumstances which led to his
decision have ceased to exist and are unlikely to recur or that the beneficiary of theauthorisation has failed to comply with the terms of the authorisation.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), the competent authority shall not terminate an
authorisation where he is satisfied that the adequate protection of the legitimate interests of the
beneficiary of the authorisation justifies the maintenance of the authorisation.
(6) Where a third person has been designated by the competent authority in accordance
with subsection (1), the authorisation may only be transferred with the enterprise or business of thebeneficiary of the authorisation or with the part of the enterprise or business within which the layout-
design is being exploited.
(7) A request for the authorisation of the competent authority shall be accompanied by
evidence that the right holder has received, from the person seeking the authorisation, a request for acontractual licence but that person has been unable to obtain such a licence on reasonable commercial
terms and conditions and within a reasonable time.
(8) A decision of the competent authority under this section may be the subject of an
appeal to the court by any interested party within 2 months of the date of the decision.
18. Exercise of discretionary powers
(1) Where the Controller is satisfied that the circumstances so justify, he may,
upon receiving a written request therefor, extend the time for doing any act, other than the
time limit set out in section 3(2)  and 7(1)(a), for filing an application, or taking anyIP/N/1/MUS/L/2
Page 11
proceeding under this Act, upon notice to the parties concerned and upon such terms as he
may direct.
(2) An extension under subsection (1) may be granted notwithstanding the time for doing
the act or taking the proceeding has expired.
19. Competence of Tribunal
(1) The Tribunal shall have  jurisdiction in cases of dispute relating to the
interpretation of this Act a nd in matters which, under the Pa tents, Industrial Designs and
Trademarks Act 2002, are referred to it.
(2) Any decision taken by the Controller under this Act, in particular the registration of a
layout-design, may be the subject of an appeal by any interested party to the Tribunal.
20. Regulations
The Minister may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or
permitted by this Act or are nece ssary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the
purposes of this Act.
21. Commencement
This Act shall come into force on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.
Passed by the National Assembly on the second day of July two thousand and two.
      Andre Pompon
      Clerk of the National Assembly
__________