The Ministry of Justice and the China National Intellectual Property Administration Interpret the Revision of the Regulations on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits

The heads of the Ministry of Justice and the National Intellectual Property Administration recently answered reporters’ questions about the revised Regulations on the Protection of Integrated Circuit LayoutDesigns. The regulations have been promulgated by the State Council and will take effect on October 15, 2026, with the aim of adapting to the new needs of the development of the integrated circuit industry and intellectual property protection. The revisions mainly concern application and examination procedures, protection of exclusive rights, commercialization of achievements, and supporting administrative measures. The regulations require that registration applications be based on genuine creative activity, add a declaration of originality, and clearly provide that applications that do not meet the requirements may be rejected or revoked; at the same time, where deadlines are missed for legitimate reasons such as force majeure, applicants may be allowed to restore their rights. In terms of protection, the regulations make clear that compensation for infringement may be determined based on actual losses, infringer’s gains, or a multiple of licensing fees, and punitive damages may be applied in serious cases. The relevant authorities stated that the next step will be to strengthen publicity and interpretation, improve supporting systems, and promote the implementation of the regulations, so as to further enhance the protection and utilization of integrated circuit layoutdesigns.