STOP! Are You Gambling On Your Memory IP?

Clive Maxfield, EETimes
3/3/2011 7:16 PM EST

Introduction

Kilopass and Sidense both license one-time programmable (OTP) memory intellectual property (IP). These companies are currently in litigation with each other with regard to allegations of patent infringement.

Why should you be interested? Well, if you are building a new chip and you are licensing memory IP, you really need to have a high level of confidence that the IP you are licensing does not violate someone else's patents; otherwise you might find yourself in court at some stage.

To be honest, the legal part of all of this is something of a morass that will make your brain ache and your eyes water, but there's a lot of other stuff here that I think you will find to be of interest, including the underlying technology, the back story as to how all of this came about, and the ins-and-outs of the patent and patent litigation process. So, keeping all of this in mind, let us plunge into the fray with gusto and abandon...

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