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July 24, 2008
Inventorship Eruption
In
2004, Magma Design Automation, an
automated chip design company, sent a threatening letter to rival
Synopsys about patent infringement.
Synopsys responded with a declaratory judgment motion that two Magma patents
were conceived while its inventor, now Magma chief scientist Lukas van Ginneken, was employed at Synopsys, hence the patents
were rightfully Synopsys property. In 2005, Van Ginneken signed a declaration that Magma
management knew. Magma stock nosedived 40% in a single day. In the aftermath,
the companies settled, costing Magma $12.5 million. But that didn't end the
story.
Stockholders filed a class action lawsuit. Earlier this week, a federal district court judge tentatively approved Magma paying $13.5 million to settle the securities suit.
Lukas van Ginneken in his March 10, 2005 declaration in Synopsys v. Magma.
I used for Magma's benefit the inventions contained in Synopsys' draft patent applications, and the inventions from these applications ultimately formed the basis for the patent applications I helped prepare for Magma.
Timeline -
June 1995 - Lukas leaves IBM for Synopsys
1996/early 1997 - Lukas develops new technology with Kudva of IBM and helps prepare patent applications for Synopsys
April 1997 - Lukas secretly co-founds Magma
May 1997 - Lukas resigns from Synopsys and joins Magma: "Magma and I used the inventions that I conceived while employed at Synopsys as a technical foundation for Magma's products."
July 1997 - Synopsys files patent applications on Lukas' invention
December 1997 - Magma files 2 patent applications on 2 key Lukas' inventions.
November 2001 - Magma goes public
December 2001 - Magma promotes Lukas to Chief Scientist
March 2002 - Lukas resigns and becomes consultant
April 2002 - USPTO grants patent to Synopsys
September 2002 - USPTO grants first patent to Magma
March 2004 - IBM/Magma license
April 2004 - USPTO grants second patent to Magma
July 2004 - Magma asserts patents against Synopsys
September 2004 - Synopsys sues
Posted by Patent Hawk at July 24, 2008 1:32 PM | Patents In Business