TNAG-2529-FCO40-3699-Hong-Kong-intellectual-property-1992 — Page 31

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Mr S Harkin HKD

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for Intelectual spect

From: GS Voysey

Joint Directorate Room 907

Kingsgate House 15 / 06 / 1992

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Subject: Protection of Designers of Semi Conductor

Topographies. ("integrated circuits" " chips")

I would like send the attached fax to Hong Kong but thought I should also bring you into the picture as well.

The background is as follows. Under a 1987 EC Directive No 87/54/EEC) member states are required to provide a certain level of protection to Community chip designers. In the UK this protection is provided by the UK Copyright Act 1988 as modified by the Design Right ( Semiconductor Topographies) Regulations 1989 No 1100. In 1990 a Council decision (90/511/EEC) under the 1987 Directive extended reciprocal protection for an interim period only at present up to December 1992) to nationals and companies of certain third countries (including the UK Dependencies e g Hong Kong) to allow them to introduce new laws, if they so wished to provide full protection for chip designers.

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You will see from the attached copy letter that Mr Cheung of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) Hong Kong sent to the Patent Office here that IPD are in fact now drafting new laws along the lines of the UK Copyright Act of 1988 and the Design Right (Semi Conductor Topographies) 1989 No 1100 to protect designers of integrated circuits in Hong Kong . This is fine as far as it goes . But given the background to Council Decision 90/511/EEC decribed earlier it is likely that Community Countries will not be required to provide Hong Kong beyond December 1992 with the kind of reciprocal protection for chip designers they have been given in the interim period up to now. For this reason I ( and the Patent Office who have drawn this to my attention ) thought we should now alert Mr Cheung to this ( he may be unaware of the background ), telling him that it would be preferable in Hong Kong's interests if IPD were to bring forward its proposed legislation from Spring 1993 .

h.D. Konsey

GS Voysey telno : 215-4375

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CODE 18-77

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