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What the EU Chips Act changes for intellectual property
Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 entered into force on 21 September 2023. It supports activity across semiconductor research, design, manufacturing, packaging and supply-chain resilience. It does not replace the existing systems for patents, copyright, designs, semiconductor-product topographies or trade secrets.
For a supported project, the relevant IP terms depend on the programme provisions and project agreements. Those terms address ownership and protection of results, security, exploitation and dissemination, transfer and licensing, and access rights. Receiving support does not, by itself, mean that the EU owns a result or that a participant receives a patent.
This makes the consortium agreement central: it should settle rights before participants exchange confidential material or begin joint work. The same discipline matters when a participant expects to exploit results outside the consortium or transfer technology to another party.
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Which IP rights matter in semiconductor projects?
Patents and utility models
Patents and utility models may protect technical inventions in chip designs, process equipment and manufacturing methods. Before project work starts, identify relevant existing rights, confirm inventorship and employer assignments, and consider freedom to operate. A project agreement should distinguish a participant’s pre-existing rights from inventions created during the project and establish who controls any patent filing.
Topographies, designs, copyright and software
Semiconductor-product topographies and design rights can be relevant to licensing. Copyright may cover design software, firmware, EDA assets and technical documentation. Agreements should specify the permitted use of software and materials, whether source-code access is included, and what rights apply to adaptations or derivative works.
Trade secrets and know-how
Process recipes, yield-improvement methods, supplier information, non-public design data and early-stage inventions may be protected as trade secrets if they are not generally known, have commercial value because they are secret, and are subject to reasonable steps to keep them secret. EU guidance explains an important limit: someone who independently develops the same information may use it freely. Trade-secret protection is directed at dishonest acquisition, use or disclosure, not independent development.
Practical measures include restricting access to people who need the information, using secure repositories, marking confidential material, requiring employee and contractor confidentiality agreements, controlling supplier access, and keeping records of security measures and incidents.
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A patent may be standard-essential when implementing a standard requires use of the patented technology. A chip or connected-device company whose products implement standards should map its standards contributions and assess potential SEP exposure before commercial launch. The European Commission identifies essentiality checks, FRAND licensing and support for SMEs as important SEP issues; a company should document its licensing position and conduct negotiations in good faith.
Patent protection or trade-secret protection?
| Approach | What it can protect | Key consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Patent or utility model | Technical inventions, including inventions relating to chip designs, equipment or manufacturing methods. | Confirm inventorship and assignment, manage filing decisions, and assess freedom to operate. The applicable rules do not specify filing timelines or the scope of protection for any particular invention. |
| Trade secret | Non-public, commercially valuable know-how such as process recipes, yield methods or supplier information, when reasonable secrecy measures are in place. | Access controls and confidentiality practices must be real and documented. Independent development is not prohibited by trade-secret protection. |
The choice depends on the asset and intended use. A consortium should decide what to disclose, what to protect through filing, and what to keep confidential before publication or broad partner access makes secrecy harder to maintain.
How to allocate and license IP in a Chips Act consortium
Before work begins, the consortium should agree on background IP—rights and confidential information participants bring into the project—and foreground results created through project work. Jointly generated inventions deserve explicit treatment rather than an assumption that ordinary ownership rules will produce the desired commercial outcome.
- Inventory background IP. Record each participant’s relevant rights and confidential information before access is granted, including any limits on use or onward disclosure.
- Allocate project results. State who owns each category of result and how jointly generated inventions are handled. Set a process for identifying inventors and controlling patent applications.
- Define permitted uses. Specify licences needed for research, prototyping, manufacturing, maintenance and downstream sales. State whether rights are exclusive or non-exclusive and whether sublicensing is allowed.
- Set transfer and exit rules. Address assignment, change of control, territory, participant withdrawal, and what happens to access rights when the project or a participant’s involvement ends.
- Protect confidential material. Set rules for access, secure storage, logging, publication review, return or destruction, and confidentiality markings. Include a publication-delay process that allows review of potentially patentable or confidential material.
- Keep evidence. Retain records of ownership, access, licensing, grant compliance and trade-secret protection measures.
These choices determine whether participants can use results for the project and later commercialise them. The agreement should match the actual programme provisions rather than treating one consortium’s allocation as a universal Chips Act rule.
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Technology licences can raise competition-law issues as well as questions about ownership. The Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER), in force from 1 May 2026, covers licensing of know-how, patents, utility models, design rights, semiconductor-product topographies and software copyrights. Its application depends on the agreement and circumstances; being a technology licence does not by itself establish that an agreement is exempt.
Review licence terms under Article 101 TFEU and the TTBER Guidelines, paying particular attention to market shares, territorial restrictions, grant-back clauses, exclusivity and non-compete provisions. The right review depends on the transaction, so do not assume a clause is acceptable merely because it appears in a project or technology licence.
For standard-essential patents, consider the separate FRAND context. Standards support interoperability, while SEP licensing can affect the ability to sell standards-compliant products. Identify relevant standards and potential SEPs early, assess essentiality where appropriate, and preserve records of licensing communications and good-faith negotiation positions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How security and technology transfers affect IP planning
The Chips Act allows protection of technology transfers for Union or national-security reasons in relation to investments in covered facilities. This makes it important to identify sensitive know-how and likely foreign-access pathways early, and to determine whether an approval or other review requirement applies before a transfer is agreed.
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Consortium terms should include security review and appropriate restrictions where a transfer could affect Union or Member-State strategic interests. The relevant controls depend on the project and transaction; the regulation should not be read as a blanket prohibition on every cross-border technology transfer.
What to know about Chips Act 2.0
On 3 June 2026, the European Commission published a proposal for Chips Act 2.0 addressing advanced-chip capacity and strategic dependencies. As of 3 October 2026, that proposal is not final law. Participants should monitor the legislative process, but should not treat proposed changes as current IP obligations.
Quick Recap
Key dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 adopted | 13 September 2023 |
| Published in the Official Journal | 18 September 2023 |
| Chips Act entered into force | 21 September 2023 |
| Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation entered into force | 1 May 2026 |
| Commission published Chips Act 2.0 proposal | 3 June 2026 |
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