law: Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000
  7.
  
     Prohibition
  
  of registration of certain layout designs.
  1.   A layout-design-
  a.  
  
    which
  
  is not original; or
  b.  
  
    which
  
  has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country;
  
  or
  c.  
  
    which
  
  is not inherently distinctive; or
  d.  
  
    which
  
  is not inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other registered
  
  layout-design, shall not be registered as a layout-design:
  Provided 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 in a convention country shall be treated as not having been
  
  commercially exploited for the purposes of this sub-section.
  1.     
  2.   A layout-design shall
  
  be considered to be original if it is the result of its creator's own
  
  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:
  Provided 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 own intellectual efforts.
  3.   Where an original
  
  layout-design has been created in execution of a commission or a contract of
  
  employment, the right of registration to such layout-design under this Act
  
  shall belong, in the absence of any contractual provision to the contrary, to
  
  the person who commissioned the work or to the employer.