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CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits

A university lab in Pune photographs and reproduces parts of a registered layout-design purely to study its architecture for a teaching module and research paper. The lab does not sell anything. Is this infringement?

It is not infringement. The Act expressly provides that reproducing a registered layout-design for the limited purposes of scientific evaluation, analysis, research or teaching does not amount to infringement. No licence or destruction deadline is required by the provision.

  1. AYes, because any reproduction of a registered layout-design infringes
  2. BYes, unless the lab obtains a compulsory licence first
  3. CNo, because reproduction for the limited purposes of scientific evaluation, analysis, research or teaching is not an act of infringementCorrect
  4. DNo, but only if the lab destroys the copies within one year

Explanation

Section 18(2) says reproduction performed for the limited purposes of scientific evaluation, analysis, research or teaching does not constitute infringement of the reproduction limb. The Act sets no licence or one-year destruction condition for this exception.

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