IP business model to continue to exist, says analyst

Anne-Francoise Pele, EE Times
(12/06/2007 5:02 PM EST)
 
GRENOBLE -- Semiconductor intellectual property (IP) as a real market emerged about ten years ago, and although detractors said there was no money to be made in IP, this sector has outgrown both the EDA and semiconductor markets. In his presentation at the IP 07 IP Based Electronic System Design & Reuse Conference this week in Grenoble, France, Jim Tully, vice president and chief of research for semiconductors at Gartner Dataquest Inc. (Stamford, Connecticut), addressed semiconductor IP market changes over its relatively short history, the current drivers for growth in IP and explored its evolution paths over the next several years.
In 1996, the IP market totaled $67.8 million, and the term IP was starting to be used, recalled Tully. The rising chip complexity was presented as a huge market opportunity for design IP, and a real buzz was created. The experience, however, proved that IP licensing is not such an easy business after all. Things took later than expected, and a lot of companies did not survive throughout the period.

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