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Welcome to Teklicon - pre-qualifed EXPERT WITNESSES for TECHNOLOGY
Technical expert witnesses available, continue and discover our continually updated site
or call us now toll free at 1-800-926-8972.
to help you explore how we can help with your current needs for expert witnesses for technology.
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| Services - Reverse Engineering |
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| In intellectual property litigation or pre-litigation matters, in particular those involving patents, experience shows that useful arguments, either as a license negotiation bargaining chip or for outright enforcement, can be produced through an understanding of a patent's claims coupled with a complete technical review of a product's technical literature. However, to support infringement arguments in court, sometimes more than a document review is required. If one is faced with litigation, more objective evidence may be required. |
| In the event of a lawsuit, some such evidence may be obtained through discovery. However, it may also be prudent to establish definitively, well in advance of filing suit and entering into the discovery process, whether or not a suspected product actually infringes a patent's claims. If schematics or other technical details are not available, and if a more thorough technical investigation is warranted, a patent's claims can be ascertained through reverse engineering the product. Reverse engineering should be considered only for those patents that the are considered highly likely to be infringed. Reverse engineering is accomplished by such means as product disassembly, printed circuit board analysis, component decapping, stripping and microphotography and code analysis. |
 Reverse Engineering Example - Semiconductors |
In the semiconductor intellectual property area, Teklicon has dealt with microchip fabrication processes, circuits embedded in the semiconductor die and other highly technical inventions. If the patent claims describe a circuit, the patent holder suspects is being used inside an integrated circuit, the following steps are involved in the reverse engineering process:
- Procure an appropriate number of IC samples. Multiple samples are needed because of damage that occasionally occurs while cross-sectioning or decapping ICs. Additionally, some standard product components are only sold in quantity. Costs for reverse engineering are somewhat dependent upon the level of assistance the inventor can provide in terms of prior reverse engineering analysis, photographs, schematics, etc.
- The chips are decapsulated and stripped down to the several desired metal and polysilicon levels. High magnification photographs are taken of each die layer using high magnification photography, of 500x to 1000x, or more.
- The chip is examined under a high-power microscope at all metal and polysilicon levels in conjunction with the enlarged photographs to determine the circuit structures and interconnect.
- An individual circuit is extracted in the form of a physical mapping of its contents. This map is then translated to a conventional schematic drawing which can in turn be captured by a computer program for optimal presentation.
- A patent claims chart is developed to compare the reverse engineered circuit to the patent claims.
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To explore how we can help with your current needs for expert witness for technology call: 1-800-926-8972
E-mail Teklicon with questions regarding this site.
3031 Tisch Way, Suite 1010 San Jose, CA 95128-2533
Toll free: 1-800-926-8972
Fax: 1-408-261-8800
Phn: 408-261-0320
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