Legal tangle expands as Axis sues Ikos

Legal tangle expands as Axis sues Ikos
By Richard Goering, EE Times
March 21, 2001 (8:00 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20010321S0065

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — The legal dispute between emulation providers Ikos Systems Inc. and Axis Systems Inc. intensified today (March 21) as Axis filed a patent infringement suit against Ikos. Although the suit follows by one month an Ikos lawsuit against Axis, it's not a retaliatory move, according to Axis officials.

In February, Ikos and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sued Axis for allegedly violating a 1994 MIT patent on the so-called "virtual wires" technology. In the new Axis lawsuit, Ikos is accused of violating a May 1997 Axis patent with Ikos' VStation-15M emulator, announced at the recent DATE conference.

Despite the close timing, the Axis lawsuit is not a defensive move, said Mike Tsai, Axis' president and chief executive officer. "It's a separate issue," he said. "They are infringing our patent."

But Ramon Nunez, Ikos' president and chief executive officer, said the lawsuit is clearly retaliatory. "I think it's pretty much a standard response that when one company files suit against another for infringement, that company will respond with a similar complaint," he said.

Tsai insisted Axis has determined that Ikos' new VStation emulator violates an Axis patent on simulation, acceleration and emulation. Tsai said he contacted Nunez, who declined to discuss the issue in the absence of a formal complaint. Therefore, Tsai said, Axis went ahead and filed suit.

"We have received the complaint and there's no basis for it," said Nunez. "We're not concerned about it at this stage." Nunez said that the Ikos lawsuit, filed in Delaware, is in motion, with preliminary trial dates expected within the next few weeks.

Nunez also disputed Tsai's earlier claim that Ikos' lawsuit immediately followed a failed takeover bid. Nunez confirmed that he did in fact meet with Axis prior to the filing and expressed concerns that the two companies are developing similar emulation technology. Nunez said he suggested that the companies "explore ways to cooperate" but denied that there was ever an acquisition offer.

The Axis lawsuit asks for an injunction and unspecified damages. It was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California.

Axis is open to a resolution of the dispute, Tsai said. "We are still very much open to a discussion with Ikos, to an out-of-court settlement, anything like that," he said. "We believe we should try to resolve this dispute in a professional way."