16. No action of infringement of unregistered layout-design.—No person shall be entitled to
institute any proceeding to prevent, or to recover damages for, the infringement of an unregistered layoutdesign.
17. Rights conferred by registration.—Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the registration of
a layout-design shall, if valid, give to the registered proprietor of layout-design the exclusive right to the
use of the layout-design and to obtain relief in respect of infringement in the manner provided by this Act.
Explanation.—For removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the rights conferred by the
registration of a layout-design shall be available to the registered proprietor of that layout-design
irrespective of the fact as to whether the layout-design is incorporated in an article or not.
18. Infringement of layout-design.—(1) A registered layout-design is infringed by a person who,
not being the registered proprietor of the layout-design or a registered user thereof,—
(a) does any act of reproducing, whether by incorporating in a semiconductor integrated circuit or
otherwise, a registered layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof, except such act of reproducing
any part thereof which is not original within the meaning sub-section (2) of section 7;
(b) subject to the provisions of sub-section (5), does any act of importing or selling or otherwise
distributing for commercial purposes a registered layout-design or a semiconductor integrated circuit
incorporating such registered layout-design or an article incorporating such a semiconductor
integrated circuit containing such registered layout-design for the use of which such person is not
entitled under this Act.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 17, sub-section (1) or sub-section (5), the
performance of the act of reproduction referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1), where such act is
performed for the limited purposes of scientific evaluation, analysis, research or teaching, shall not
constitute act of infringement within the meaning of that clause.
(3) Where a person, on the basis of scientific evaluation or analysis of a registered layout-design,
creates another layout-design which is original within the meaning of sub-section (2) of section 7, that
person shall have the right to incorporate such another layout-design in a semiconductor integrated circuit
or to perform any of the acts referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (5) in respect of such another
layout-design and such incorporation or performance of any act shall not be regarded as infringement
within the meaning of sub-section (1).
(4) Where a layout-design is created by the process of scientific evaluation or analysis of the
registered layout-design as referred to in sub-section (3), the use of such layout-design by the proprietor
of such registered layout-design shall be regarded as infringement within the meaning of sub-section (1)
after the date of registration of such layout-design under this Act.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (b) of sub-section (1), the performance of any of the
acts referred to in that clause by a person shall not be regarded as infringement within the meaning of that
clause if such act is performed or directed to be performed in respect of a semiconductor integrated circuit
incorporating a registered layout-design or any article incorporating such a semiconductor integrated
circuit where such person does not possess any knowledge or has no reasonable ground to know while
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performing or directing to be performed such act in respect of such semiconductor integrated circuit or
article that it incorporated a registered layout-design but after the time when such person has received
notice of such knowledge, he may continue to perform or directing to be performed such act in respect of
the stock on hand or ordered before such time and, then, he shall be liable to pay the proprietor of the
registered layout-design a sum by way of royalty to be determined by negotiation between registered
proprietor of the registered layout-design and that person or by the Appellate Board having regard to the
benefit accrued to such person by performing or directing to be performed such act in respect of such
semiconductor integrated circuit or article, as the case may be.
(6) Where any other person purchases a semiconductor integrated circuit incorporating a registered
layout-design or any article incorporating such a semiconductor integrated circuit referred to in
sub-section (5) from a person referred to in that sub-section, then, such other person shall be entitled to
the immunity from infringement in respect of that semiconductor integrated circuit or article, as the case
may be, to the extent and in the manner as if the word “person” referred in that sub-section includes the
word any other person referred in this sub-section.
(7) Nothing contained in clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be construed as constituting an act of
infringement where any person performs any of the acts specified in that clause with the written consent
of the registered proprietor of a registered layout-design or within the control of the person obtaining such
consent, or in respect of a registered layout-design or a semiconductor integrated circuit incorporating a
registered layout-design or any article incorporating such a semiconductor integrated circuit, that has been
put on the market by or with the consent of the registered proprietor of such registered layout-design.
(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where any person by application of independent
intellect has created a layout-design which is identical to a registered layout-design, then, any act of such
person in respect of the layout-design so created shall not be the infringement of the registered layoutdesign.
19. Registration to be prima facie evidence of validity.—(1) In all legal proceedings relating to a
layout-design registered under this Act (including application under section 30), the original registration
of the layout-design and all subsequent assignments and transmissions of layout-design shall be prima
facie evidence of the validity thereof.
(2) In all legal proceedings as aforesaid, a registered layout-design shall not be held to be invalid on
the ground that it was not a registerable layout-design under section 7 except upon evidence of originality
and that such evidence was not submitted to the Registrar before registration.