SEMICONDUCTOR BUSINESS IN INDIA: INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

SEMICONDUCTOR BUSINESS IN INDIA:?? INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The Semiconductor chip since its invention by Jack Kirby of Texas Instruments (later Nobel Laureate in physics 2000 for this invention) and concurrently to this effort was the indomitable Robert Noyce working at “Fairchilds Semiconductors”. ?Noyce was the first to patent (1961)? with the idea of a whole circuit on a single chip but he never got a noble prize although was a cofounder of Intel corporation. Intel is currently the largest producer of Semiconductors in the world.

It would be an understatement to say that the Semiconductor industry has soared tremendously since it’s hey days in the 1960’s. What is more is that the functions and technicality associated with its retail business is in the complexity of its application.? ?Much like our flat building architectural systems ?One over the other -the integrated circuit has been crammed with more component for optimized universality of application that led Cofounder of Intel Gordon Moore to say that the “result is that the complexity of the minimum component cost has increased at roughly a factor of two in twelve months”. This observation follows the well-known “Moore’s Law” (1970) that the cycle time of doubled complexity would slow down every two years; amazingly this law continues to hold here.

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India has very few entrepreneurs in nascent or even latent technologies. The exceptions may be Narayana murthy and a few that are at ISRO and DRDO. The whole gamut of operations require ?cohort of skills and talent at all levels of the production chain.? Our universities are in the VC appointment exercise and how to produce papers to get the ‘PhD’ syndrome. Even the influx of industry fellows into universities seems like hindsight, what with age restrictions etc. – which is amazing, even in this day and age! ?Innovation grows in business not in the Tejori type Bania. Even some of the investments are nothing but import and sell – something like our Indian refineries – the hydrocarbon comes from elsewhere but? sell it 20% more (certainly ?profitability is assured, even conversion of Sulphur ridden Russian Oil , ?but is this innovation?)

?Semi-Conductor Value Chain & Business

?Unlike what is thought about the semiconductor as being one large enterprise end to end (something mistakenly like our HAL of socialist yore) there is a complete chain of spectrum of players. The game is a sustainable interaction, ?Starting from a Silicon refinement plant, IC design house, wafer fabrication foundry and other support industries like assemblies, testing and delivery / distribution to customers.? In its distribution the Semiconductor chip is never to the end user as a final product. Its application is by the key intermediate input to a wide range of manufacturing industries such as Automobiles, communication devices, electrical home appliances, computer hardware even space ships.? The IC Design house is the “piece de resistance” in this sophisticated value chain requiring highly skilled design talents armed with IP’s from well-known EDA tools etc. ?They define the entire eco system in this industry and this is certainly not labor intensive but talent intensive incurring few fixed asset investment.? This is unlike such need for labor intensiveness in ?the other aspect of foundries and wafer fabrication, testing etc.? There is also the aspect of not reinventing the wheel in this industry and designers incorporate into the chip reuse by directly incorporating an IP Core (which is predesigned / verified building block protected by previous patent or layout design) and tweaking it to serve a given application specification. In other words the industry rests on its previous building blocks for its business applications/ design thereof.

?The law interface

?The law in India is the Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Layout Design (SICLD) Act, 2000 for registration.? Much litigation may interface with patents, copyright and layout design considering cross applications/ interdependence of designs by companies. The usual principles of originality and non-obviousness as in patent ability apply only the duration of registration as in patent s (20 years) in the case of SICLD is 15 years. ?Although application is territorial India may also be under obligation the head of “Convention country” under clause 93 of the SICLD.? A comprehensive IP licensing even under trade treaties must be effected to ensure smooth industrial procurement and advancement