GSA Announces Infrastructure to Ease Third-Party IP Licensing Process for Semiconductor Industry

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- (July 12, 2010) – GSA, the voice of the global semiconductor industry, today announces its plans to help third-party IP buyers and sellers reduce costs and shorten the IP negotiation cycle with a new IP Licensing Best Practices survey and report.

GSA’s IP Interest Group formed an IP Licensing Working Group after responding to the industry’s need for a deliverable that will ease the third-party IP buying and selling process. The group’s first deliverable is a survey for companies to use as an objective measure of actual industry license practices and incorporate these practices, as appropriate, into current licensing activity.

“We’re excited that the working group was able to come together to create an infrastructure that provides IP buyers and suppliers valuable information about industry IP licensing norms,” said Warren Savage, president and chief executive officer of IPextreme, and chairman of GSA’s IP Interest Group. “We expect the information obtained in this quarterly report to become a valuable resource to the semiconductor industry for years to come.”

The IP Licensing Best Practices report is an on-going reflection of actual terms and conditions implemented by peers that buy and sell third-party IP for integration into systems-on-chip and covers three main areas:

Warranty
Indemnification
Total Liability Limitation

The survey is currently open for all 2Q 2010 IP contract negotiations. All survey results will be confidential. Only participating companies will receive the aggregated and analyzed results. To participate in the survey, visit: www.gsaglobal.org/surveys/ip_licensing_best_practices/index.asp.

About GSA:

The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) mission is to accelerate the growth and increase the return on invested capital of the global semiconductor industry by fostering a more effective fabless ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation. It addresses the challenges within the supply chain including IP, EDA/design, wafer manufacturing, test and packaging to enable industry-wide solutions. Providing a platform for meaningful global collaboration, the Alliance identifies and articulates market opportunities, encourages and supports entrepreneurship, and provides members with comprehensive and unique market intelligence. Members include companies throughout the supply chain representing 25 countries across the globe. www.gsaglobal.org