Kilopass Receives Favorable Markman Order Ahead of ItsPatent Infringement Trial Against Sidense

Update: Synopsys Expands DesignWare IP Portfolio with Acquisition of Kilopass Technology (Jan. 10, 2018)

Favorable Decision by Judge on All Ten Disputed Patent Terms Will Help Jury Understand Infringement by Sidense

SANTA CLARA, Calif., September 2, 2011 – Kilopass Technology Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor logic non-volatile memory (NVM) intellectual property (IP), today announced that U.S. District Court has delivered a Markman Order favorable to Kilopass on all of the ten most disputed patent terms in its litigation against Sidense.  This favorable result will help the jury understand more clearly Kilopass’ infringement case against Sidense in the upcoming trial in the spring of 2012.

Adopted in 1997, the Markman hearing is a conference in a patent litigation where the judge determines the definition of technical terms of patent claims to be used by a jury to determine if infringement has occurred.  As the jury’s interpretation of the patent will have significant influence on infringement, these terms are critical to the progression of the case.  But these terms are often highly technical in nature, thus challenging for jury to understand.  Therefore, the Markman hearing procedure provides concise definition of these terms so the jury can use to determine the infringement. 

“I am pleased that the Markman Order has been reached, and the case can proceed to trial,” said Charlie Cheng, president and CEO of Kilopass Technology, Inc.  “While I am thrilled the interpretations support our lawsuit, I am even more heartened that the Markman Order is simple, easy to understand and compelling from a technical standpoint.”

In this Markman hearing, Sidense’s proposed definition added numerous qualifiers to the disputed terms in an effort to narrow their meaning.  The Honorable Judge Susan Illston’s decision pointedly ended this attempt: “Defendant’s distinction between the structure of a transistor on the one hand, and the operation and connectivity of a transistor on the other, is artificial and confusing.”  In another example, Judge Illston decided that for Sidense “to define memory cell with reference only to a number of transistors is incorrect as a matter of law.”  Finally, Judge Illston ruled against Sidense in stating that several of the terms “should be given their ordinary and customary meaning.”

“We believe this favorable Markman ruling greatly strengthens our patent infringement complaint against Sidense, and we are ready to make our case before the jury,” said Lee Cleveland, Vice president of Engineering at Kilopass Technology, Inc.  “We believe the U.S. District Court’s decision that support Kilopass’ definition of key terms used in our patents will facilitate Kilopass task to prove a case against Sidense for infringement of our intellectual property.”

About Kilopass

Kilopass Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of embedded NVM intellectual property, leverages standard logic CMOS processes to deliver one-time programmable (OTP) and many-time programmable (MTP) memory. With 58 patents granted or pending and more than 800,000 wafers shipped from a dozen foundries and Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs), Kilopass has more than 100 customers in applications ranging from storage of firmware and security codes to calibration data and other application-critical information.  The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.  For more information, visit www.kilopass.com or email info@kilopass.com.

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