In accordance with the Regulations on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, promulgated by the State Council in 2001, the SIPO is the authority to receive and examine applications for registration of layout designs of integrated circuits. The SIPO issues registration certificates to those applications meeting the relevant requirements. In 2006, the SIPO received 417 applications, and issued 373 certificates with registration published. Until December 31, 2006, the SIPO has ever received 1,380 applications for registration, and issued 1,219 certificates.