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, Third Edition in the particular foreign country, either under the principle of reciprocity or under the principle of national treatment.

17 U.S.C.§ 902(a).

To "commercially exploit" a mask work means "to distribute to the public for commercial purposes a semiconductor chip product embodying the mask work; except that the term includes an offer to sell or transfer a semiconductor chip product only when the offer is in writing and occurs after the mask work is fixed in the semiconductor chip product." 17 U.S.C. § 901(a)(5).

NOTE: All countries that are members of the World Trade Organization ("WTO") became eligible for mask work protection on June 1, 1996, under Presidential Proclamation 6780, which was issued on March 23, 1995. Additionally, that proclamation extended mask work protection to Australia, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and the member states of the European Community as of July 1, 1995. See Proclamation No. 6780, 60 Fed. Reg. 15,844 (Mar. 27, 1995). A complete and current list of WTO members is maintained on the WTO's website at www.wto.org.

1204.5 Registration

Applicants must register a claim in a mask work to secure the protections discussed below in Section 1207. For detailed information on how to register a claim in a mask work see Sections 1210 through 1214 below.

1204.5(A) Registration Required Within Two Years of First Commercial Exploitation

To secure protection of a mask work for the entire ten-year term, owners must register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office within two years of the date on which the mask work is first commercially exploited, otherwise protection will be lost. 17 U.S.C. § 908(a). For example, a claim in a mask work that was first commercially exploited on March 15, 2013 must be received in the U.S. Copyright Office prior to or on March 15, 2015 in order to be protected.

1204.5(B) Effective Date of Registration

The effective date of registration of a claim to protection in a mask work is the date on which an acceptable application, deposit of identifying material, and appropriate filing fee are received in the U.S. Copyright Office. 17 U.S.C. § 908(e).

1204.5(C) Benefits of Registration

In addition to providing the protection discussed below in Section 1207, registration of a claim in a mask work provides the following benefits:

• A certificate of registration for a mask work issued by the U.S. Copyright Office constitutes prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the certificate and that the applicant has met the requirements for protection.

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