Kilopass Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Sidense

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

Kilopass seeks protection and compensation for the use of its 1T patented inventions

Santa Clara, Calif. -- May 17, 2010 -- Kilopass Technology Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor logic non-volatile memory (NVM) IP, announced today it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Sidense Corp. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on May 14, 2010, for infringement of Kilopass’ 1T antifuse technology.  Kilopass may further amend the complaint to include false advertising and unfair business practices, as discovery in the case proceeds.

“Kilopass has faithfully followed the road of a good corporate citizen, having invested heavily in research, developed products and filed over 50 patent applications while receiving 40 patents,” said Kilopass CEO Charlie Cheng. “We don’t take litigations lightly, recognizing their severity and cost.  However, it’s time to seek the court’s assistance, and stop Sidense from using Kilopass technology without permission and, by doing so, misleading customers.”

Among the more than 40 patents granted to it, Kilopass has been granted five 1T patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  These are:

TITLE	PATENT NUMBER
HIGH DENSITY SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CELL AND MEMORY ARRAY USING A SINGLE TRANSISTOR	US 6,777,757
HIGH DENSITY SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CELL AND MEMORY ARRAY USING A SINGLE TRANSISTOR	US 6,856,540
HIGH DENSITY SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CELL AND MEMORY ARRAY USING A SINGLE TRANSISTOR AND BURIED N+ CHANNEL CONNECTION	US 6,898,116
HIGH DENSITY SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CELL AND MEMORY ARRAY USING A SINGLE TRANSISTOR AND HAVING VARIABLE GATE OXIDE BREAKDOWN	US 6,940,751
HIGH DENSITY SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CELL AND MEMORY ARRAY USING A SINGLE TRANSISTOR AND HAVING COUNTER-DOPED POLY AND BURIED DIFFUSION WORDLINE	US 6,992,925

Kilopass was founded in 2001 and spent the next three years bringing to market the first logic CMOS embedded non-volatile memory using antifuse technology at 0.18um. Over the last six years, Kilopass has spent more than $30M to continue to build its antifuse patent portfolio that now includes 54 patents issued or pending. The company has developed and qualified products to enable embedded non-volatile memory solutions in over 30 foundry processes from 0.18um to 40nm at over a dozen pure play foundries and independent device manufacturers (IDM).  To date, Kilopass has customers with Kilopass’ embedded NVM IP in production down to 40nm. Last year, despite the economic downturn, Kilopass doubled its sales due to the strength of its patents and design license models.  

“Our more than 80 customers have entered into licenses with Kilopass with the understanding that they will enjoy both the privileges and rights of using intellectual property based upon our patents,” said Kilopass CEO Charlie Cheng. “Therefore, we have no choice but to use all legal means necessary to enforce our patents to ensure a fair market place, with fair pricing and business practices for both Kilopass and our customers.”

Availability of the Complaint

Kilopass customers, partners, and interested parties can contact Erika Duscha for a copy of the complaint.  

About Kilopass

Kilopass Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of embedded NVM intellectual property, leverages standard logic CMOS processes to deliver one-time programmable (OTP) memory. With 54 patents granted or pending and more than 500,000 wafers shipped from a dozen foundries and Integrated  Device Manufacturers (IDM), Kilopass has more than 80 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, California. For more information, please visit http://www.kilopass.com  or email info@kilopass.com.