Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

6.   Effect of protection

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    (1)   Protection under this Act shall not depend upon whether or not the integrated circuit which incorporates the protected layout-design is itself incorporated in an article.

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    (2)   Subject to subsection (3) and to section 14 the protection shall have the effect that the following acts shall be unlawful if performed without the authorisation of the right holder—

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      (a)     reproducing, whether by incorporation in an integrated circuit or otherwise, the protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof, except the act of reproducing any part that does not comply with the requirement of originality referred to in section 4:

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      (b)     importing, selling or otherwise distributing for commercial purposes the protected layout-design, an integrated circuit in which the protected layout-design is incorporated or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit in so far as it continues to contain an unlawfully reproduced layout-design.

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    (3)   The effect of protection of a layout-design under this Act shall not extend to—

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      (a)     the reproduction of the protected layout-design for private purposes or for the sole purpose of evaluation, analysis, research or teaching;

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      (b)     the incorporation in an integrated circuit of a layout-design created on the basis of such analysis or evaluation and which is itself original within the meaning of section 4 or the performance of any of the acts referred to in subsection (2) in respect of that layout-design;

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      (c)     the performance of any of the acts referred to in subsection (2)(b) where the act is performed in respect of a protected layout-design, or in respect of an integrated circuit in which such a layout-design is incorporated, that has been put on the market by or with the consent of the right holder;

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      (d)     the performance of any of the acts referred to in subsection (2)(b) where the act is performed in respect of an identical layout-design which is original and has been created independently by a third party; or

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      (e)     the performance of any of the acts referred to in subsection (2)(b) in respect of an integrated circuit incorporating an unlawfully reproduced layout-design or any article incorporating such an integrated circuit where the person performing or ordering such an act did not know and had no reasonable ground to know; when acquiring the integrated circuit or the article incorporating such an integrated circuit, that it incorporated an unlawfully reproduced layout-design.

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    (4)   Where however a person under subsection (3)(e) has received sufficient notice that the layout-design was unlawfully reproduced, that person may perform any of those acts only with respect to the stock on hand or ordered before such time and is liable to pay to the right holder a sum equivalent to a reasonable royalty such as would be payable under a freely negotiated licence in respect of such a layout-design.