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The legal protection for virtual design blocks for semiconductors is a murky area. According to the SoC design cluster Socware and the Invest in Sweden Agency this contributes to the hesitation of large companies to deal with new small IP developers, and hampers the sector's growth.
The market for IP design blocks is not growing as rapidly as it could be. This is the view of the Swedish research cluster for system-on-chip Socware and the Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA). The two organisations are now gathering legal and engineering experts to resolve what rights developers and buyers of design blocks really have. Their aim is to be able to give advice to IP companies.
"Companies ring us with queries, but we know of no one that they can turn to," says Rolf Rising at ISA.
The legal issues that companies feel unsure about are often of a contractual nature. They may concern the amount of support included in the contract or how to deal with possible bugs. The copyright issue is also a major stumbling block. For instance, questions like "what happens if parts of the design are illegally copied?".
Large customers hesitate to buy design blocks from small unknown players even if their products are good. Therefore, the threshold into the market becomes unnecessarily high for many new companies. Another problem is that IP commerce, lacking clear laws, easily becomes engrossed in time consuming contractual issues. Currently, Internet-based IP markets make both buyers and vendors sign detailed agreements.
"Companies ring us with queries, but we know of no one that they can turn to," says Rolf Rising at ISA.
The legal issues that companies feel unsure about are often of a contractual nature. They may concern the amount of support included in the contract or how to deal with possible bugs. The copyright issue is also a major stumbling block. For instance, questions like "what happens if parts of the design are illegally copied?".
Large customers hesitate to buy design blocks from small unknown players even if their products are good. Therefore, the threshold into the market becomes unnecessarily high for many new companies. Another problem is that IP commerce, lacking clear laws, easily becomes engrossed in time consuming contractual issues. Currently, Internet-based IP markets make both buyers and vendors sign detailed agreements.
Gittan Cedervall
