China declares it is now the leading global chipmaking power — mainly because it just changed the definition of what a semiconductor is
Broadening a definition with a first-mover advantage?
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/rahim-amir · TechRadarNews By Rahim Amir Published 7 August 2026
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- China's State Council published a revised integrated-circuit layout-design regulation, deleting the words "semiconductor integrated circuit" from its definitions article, essentially rewriting what it considers an integrated circuit
- The regulation does retain mentions of "semiconductor material substrate", but chooses to expand on its definition in a separate clause
- It also expressly extends protection to photonic and quantum chip design layouts from October 2026
China's State Council has published the revised Regulations on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, the first systematic rewrite of a text that had sat untouched since April 2001.
The revision was adopted at the State Council's 91st executive meeting on July 10, 2026, promulgated as Decree No. 842 on July 23, and takes effect on October 15, 2026.
The change drawing the attention is also the smallest in the document which saw "semiconductor integrated circuit" struck from the front of the definitions article, so that Chinese law now effectively protects the layout of an integrated circuit rather than the layout of a semiconductor one.
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A more liberal approach to chip design IP from China?
Beijing's aim is to bring photonic and quantum chips within the same protection regime that semiconductor designs already enjoy, but the change is being read as a claim to future leadership in chip design.
The National Intellectual Property Administration published two expert interpretations alongside the regulation.
The one generating the most buzz is by Guo He of the Intellectual Property Academy at Renmin University of China. Guo notes that photonic integrated devices and quantum chip technology are advancing quickly and that optoelectronic chips are already in wide use in some fields, then concedes that the deletion looks inconsequential on its face, since monolithic integrated circuits everywhere still need semiconductor material as a substrate.
His case for its significance is about posture rather than capability: the point of formally striking the phrase, he argues, is to show that the Chinese are "no longer conservatives in the intellectual property system."
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