Topographies of semiconductor products
Topographies are three-dimensional structures of microelectronic semiconductor products. Topographies with a certain, not common peculiarity can be protected. This also applies to a topography, which consists of an arrangement of common parts, if the arrangement has a peculiarity. The protection also extends to parts of the topography that can be used independently, but not to the drafts, the manufacturing processes and the stored information.
The topography must be registered with the patent office to obtain protection. This is still possible within two years after the first business use. Protection lasts for 10 years.
The protection has the effect that only the holder is authorized to use the topography for business purposes, in particular that the topography can only be reproduced and the semiconductor product sold with his consent.