Anti-pirate circuit for protection against commercial integrated circuit pirates
US7558969B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 6, 2003 |
| Grant date | Jul 7, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 21, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F21/73
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Anti-pirate circuitry is provided for combating the theft of intellectual property contained with semiconductor integrated circuits. The anti-pirate circuit includes a unique number generator that provides a multi-bit die ID data string that is unique to the integrated circuit associated with the anti-pirate circuit. One time programmable (OTP) EPROM circuitry reads the die ID data string at wafer sort and writes the data content to nonvolatile memory. During a subsequent verification cycle, ID comparator circuitry compares the data string provided by the unique number generator to the stored contents of the nonvolatile memory. If the comparison results in a mismatch between more than a predefined number of bits, then the integrated circuit associated with the anti-pirate circuit is not enabled for operation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.