I'm a participant in TECHNO-L, an e-news mailing list regarding
intellectual property and technology transfer.  I posted a "simple"
question there which is still being debated, and someone suggested I post
it to your list which he says is the list for PCB designers and
fabricators.

The question is, can the design of printed circuit board be copyrighted,
and royalties charged for each copy produced?  Note that I'm talking PCBs,
not microcircuits which can be protected as a Mask Work. Most respondents
in TECHNO-L have concluded that it is not possible to protect the design
because only artistic expression (and not utility) can be protected by
copyright.  However, one respondent reported that Israel courts have
concluded that a PCB design is protectable under copyright.

I'm sure you've hashed this over years ago.  If someone would be so kind as
to enlighten our group, and if possible point us toward an archive of the
discussion (if it exists), we'd be very grateful.  Thank you.

--
James R. ("Jim") Palmer
Licensing Executive
Office of Technology Transfer
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee