1205 Ineligible Mask Works 1205.1 De Minimis Authorship
Sections 902 (B) (1) and (2) of the Act state that protection shall not be available to a mask work that is not original or that consists of designs that are staple, commonplace, or familiar in the semiconductor industry, or variations of such designs, combined in a way that, considered as a whole, is not original. The Office may question applications for mask works that appear to be very simple (consisting of only a few electronic components) if the Nature of Contribution statement or the deposit material indicate that the mask work is unoriginal, staple, commonplace, or familiar. The Office will refuse registration if it is clear from the deposit materials or from statements given in space 8 of the application that the mask work is unoriginal, staple, commonplace, or familiar.