Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design

Every computer chip incorporates a semiconductor integrated circuit. In fifth generation computers very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) is used to accommodate multiple transistors on a single chip, reducing device size while considerably improving computing power. This eventually results in smaller yet powerful computers. As a result, developing the configuration on a semiconductor integrated circuit as intellectual property is quite important. Product life cycles are shortening in several industries. The amount of effort and money needed to acquire intellectual property rights, particularly patents, might be disproportional to the life of the product. Requirements such as the requirement to label products with patent pending become impractical when devices have short life cycles and incorporate a variety of technologies covered by several patents, particularly when such products are miniaturized. Integrated circuits are made up of multiple building blocks, each of which is patentable. The layout of topography of transistors or semiconductors on the semiconductor integrated circuit on the integrated circuit, dictates the size and processing power of the integrated circuit. That is why transistor layout design is such an essential and distinct kind of intellectual property, distinct from the other types of intellectual property rights such as copyright, trademarks, patents, and industrial designs. Exclusive protections for semiconductor integrated circuits layout-design is required because patent, copyright, and trade secret legislation cannot sufficiently protect integrated circuit design, the semiconductor industry has determined.

Claims to an integrated circuit would need to cover a large number of individual elements because an integrated circuit has a large number of semiconductor devices. As a result, a patent claim attempting to describe a complete integrated circuit could be many pages long. Writing a patent grant application to support a claim containing thousands of components would be extraordinarily difficult, time-consuming, and costly. Clearly, integrated circuits are difficult to describe in a patent specification or claims.

At Lexmotion, our expert patent lawyers can assist you and your company makes rational technical and legal decisions, potentially reducing the risks associated with obtaining IP protection for semiconductor integrated circuit.