If you want to understand how a competitor's IC is designed, or to further investigate whether a competitor uses your IC design know-how, it is an option to pass the IC through Reverse Engineering. Through the reverse reduction project, we can clearly see the details of the IC's overall circuit design architecture, component wiring, component size, type, layout arrangement, components quantity, and layout engineering. 

 

IC reverse engineering focuses on circuit analysis on the chip. By means of a high-magnification SEM and an OM layer by layer, the circuit traces and poly layers of the metal layer are image-displayed to show how the components pass through the Contact, Via holes through the layers. The circuit analysis engineer then uses the knowledge and experience of circuit connection to draw a hierarchical circuit architecture, indicating the connection of its functional blocks and signal transmission. 

 

Common electronic circuit invention patents, the terms and diagrams of the scope of application for patents are roughly the same as those of EDA conversion. If you suspect that competitor IC products infringe on your own patent rights, you can use the reverse reduction project to present the IC product entity or Respond to the circuit diagram of the IC design stage, and then compare it with the patent protection scope (ie, the Claim Chart). If the IC technical features fall within the scope of patent rights protection, it constitutes infringement.

 

In the patent litigation, the infringement appraisal submission filed by the plaintiff, the report of the reverse reduction project of the defendant's infringing IC product is common. If the product specification or specification of the alleged infringing product has described the semiconductor component and its connection method, the reverse reduction engineering report may temporarily reside in the supplementary position; if the competitor is not infringing the patent but improperly using the right holder's business secret (for example, the patent specification does not reveal). Under normal circumstances, rights can only be claimed through reverse engineering, which is very important for understanding the infringement interpretation of whether competitor product design involves patent content. Some people think that if the infringer does have improper use of the business secrets of the rights holder, the rights holder will restore the details of the alleged infringing product through the reverse reduction project. Does it mean that the business secrets of the infringement are disclosed to the public? Don't worry, in practice, you can protect the rights and interests of rights holders by secretly keeping orders. 

 

The circuit analysis provided by CPS has high accuracy, and the provided BrigenOne software plays an important tool in patent interpretation. The "bidirectional circuit and Layout cross-reference" function can not only understand the structure of the circuit but also clearly see the corresponding layout project. It is a weapon for the verification of business secrets. According to experience, the patentee's patent is often a description of a circuit mechanism, and the first problem to use the circuit analysis to find out the specific infringement of the competitor is to locate the position of the circuit on the chip. CPS engineers and Knowledge Management can help locate circuit locations and ranges. In ICs manufactured with advanced processes, IC reverse engineering is quite expensive. CPS's service can help customers find infringement evidence at a lower price and in a shorter time, and make the next decision.