United States Code/Title 17/Chapter 9/Sections 904 and 905

&mdash;Duration of protection

(a) The protection provided for a mask work under this chapter shall commence on the date on which the mask work is registered under section 908, or the date on which the mask work is first commercially exploited anywhere in the world, whichever occurs first.

(b) Subject to subsection (c) and the provisions of this chapter, the protection provided under this chapter to a mask work shall end ten years after the date on which such protection commences under subsection (a).

(c) All terms of protection provided in this section shall run to the end of the calendar year in which they would otherwise expire.

&mdash;Exclusive rights in mask works

The owner of a mask work provided protection under this chapter has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following: (1) to reproduce the mask work by optical, electronic, or any other means; (2) to import or distribute a semiconductor chip product in which the mask work is embodied; and (3) to induce or knowingly to cause another person to do any of the acts described in paragraphs (1) and (2).

Amendment history
Sections 904 and 905 were added by the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-620, Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3335) with effect as provided in section 913.