Computer technology has and will continue to have a significant impact on our society and the way in which we interact. At the heart of a computer are one or more semiconductor chips containing an elaborate and complex three dimensional set of electronic connections. These connections provide the logic, performance, functions and capability of the computer. Considerable investment is made in the design of faster and more efficient semiconductor chips to drive the demand for greater performance of computer systems.

Canada passed the Integrated Circuit Topography Act in 1990. The Act excludes integrated circuit topography - essentially layout designs embedded in computer semiconductor chips or circuit boards - from copyright protection, except for any computer program contained in a topography. Integrated circuit topographies registered under the Act are protected for ten years against copying or independent creation. Time runs from the earlier of the date when the application was first filed or when the topography was first commercially exploited. The work must be "original", which in this context means (a) it must not be copied, (b) be the result of an "intellectual effort", and (c) not be "commonplace" among integrated circuit topography designers or manufacturers.

Failure to file an application within two years of any commercial sale of  product using the topography may result in loss of rights. Protection of a topography requires registration in each country in which protection is sought. An international treaty provides a basis for mutual recognition of such rights.