Semiconductor Technology, Patent Protection

William Shockley in Bell Labs invented the transistor in 1949, opened the semiconductor industrial door from that time on, and also changed the world. Even though today far away from 50 years, transistors are still the fundamental elements we are using in the integrated circuit. The last century greatest invention let Shockley obtain the Nobel physics prize in 1956. Since half century, although each kind of technical development changes with each new day, in each kind of technical industry, the semiconductor industry affects the human life and changes in a biggest way. A series of industries, which changed human life a lot, such as home appliances, computers, telecommunication, multi-media, medical facilities and so on are derived from the development of semiconductor industry. Today semiconductor industry is still the global biggest livelihood industry.The vigorous development of semiconductor industry benefits from the patent system, which provides the motivation of innovation behind besides from the hard work of scientists and the people. Texas Instruments is first company in the world to produce the transistors for commercial purpose. In the latest few years, the royalty the company gets from the patents of semiconductor reaches 1.2 billion dollars every year. Since several decades, the quantity of patents, which are obtained in the field of semiconductor, has reached as high as several millions. However, the disputes of patent in this industry are unceasing which show that in one aspect, the highly specialty of this industry gives the patent law innate difficulties to apply; in another aspect, the professionals engaged in patent protection in semiconductor industry are not enough. As a result, there is a large space for us to study the patent protection of semiconductor industry...