THE MAGAZINE FOR COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
Circuit Cellar Online offers articles illustrating creative solutions
and unique applications through complete projects, practical
tutorials, and useful design techniques.

CORE WAR

by Tom Cantrell

Start ı Guns Blazing ı The Curtain Rises ı RISC 101 ı 32 Bits orBust ı There's the Bell • Sources and PDF

Whether itıs in the courtroom or in the marketplace, whenever Xilinx and Altera butt heads, you can be sure that sparks are going to fly.

Consider the various patent-related lawsuits between the two. Weıre talking about the legal equivalent of trench warfare, with seven years of mud-slinging and no end in sight.

It appeared that Xilinx had actually managed to land a punch back in November of last year when, after a six-week trial, a federal jury found that Altera infringed seminal ı80s-era Xilinx FPGA patents. Pressing their advantage, Xilinx then asked the International Trade Commission (ITC) to bar imports of Altera parts, a showstopper for the fabless company because it relies on overseas foundries for production.

The expected response, an appeal, was upstaged when a judge overturned the jury verdict. Ironically, the judge doing the short-circuiting was the same one who presided over the original trialıkind of the judicial equivalent of hitting the backspace key, I suppose.

For a while Iıve wondered if either party really had any interest in finally settling the matter. After all, as we saw in the good old days of the Cold War, while the heavyweights are circling, the lightweights (i.e., anyone else who dares to stick their hand into the programmable gate array cookie jar) keep their heads down.

But lo and behold, Xilinx and Altera announced in July that they had settled differences and signed a patent peace agreement (http://www.xilinx.com/prs_rls/0164settlelitigation.htm). According to Wim Roelandts, President and CEO of Xilinx, "This agreement enables both companies to focus their energies on technological innovation and the competition that matters mostıin the marketplace."

It wasnıt long after that I read an article in EE Times in which Altera President and CEO John Daane says the two companies broad patent portfolios pose "a tremendous barrier to entry" for other suppliers. [1] Sighı.

NEXT

Circuit Cellar provides up-to-date information for engineers. Visit www.circuitcellar.com for more information and additional articles.
For subscription information, call (860) 875-2199, subscribe@circuitcellar.com or subscribe online. ıCircuit Cellar, the Magazine for Computer Applications. Posted with permission.