> is definitely some form of intellectual property and covered by copyright law I'm not sure if you meant to suggest that "some form of intellectual property"

> is definitely some form of intellectual property and covered by copyright law I'm not sure if you meant to suggest that "some form of intellectual property" implies "covered by copyright law", but this is untrue in general, and untrue in this specific case. Copyright does not cover mask works; see [1] for discussion, from which quote: "Copyright law ONLY protects an original work of authorship IF the work is non-functional. But the etching designs on computer chips ARE functional." [1] https://revisionlegal.com/copyright/mask-works-101-copyright-protections-for-semiconductor-chip-products/ https://revisionlegal.com/copyright/mask-works-101-copyright...