Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Layout Design(SICLD) Act, 2000, has come into operation in India w.e.f. 4th September 2000. As per the provisions of this Act, Registrar Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry under the  Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been appointed with its head office at Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, Lodi Road New Delhi-110003.The Registry maintains the Register of Layout-Designs and records in it the registered layout-designs with the names, addresses, and descriptions of the proprietor and such other matters related to the registered layout-designs.

The SICLD Act, 2000 prohibits the registration of certain Layout designs. Layout design  which is not original is prohibited. Similarly, the registration of layout design which has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or a convention country has been prohibited. Layout design which is not inherently distinctive or which is not inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other registered layout-design also cannot be registered. The Act, however, provides that a layout-design which has been commercially exploited for not more than two years from the date on which an application for its registration has been filed either in India or a convention country shall be considered as not having been commercially exploited.

According to SICLD Act, 2000, layout-design is to be considered as original if it is the result of its creator’s intellectual efforts and is not commonly known to the creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits at the time of its creation. The Act further provides that a layout-design consisting of such combination of elements and interconnections that are commonly known among creators of layout-designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits shall be considered as original if such combination taken as a whole is the result of its creator’s intellectual efforts.