Mentor Graphics Corporation announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld the patentability of claims in U.S. Patent No. 6,240,376 for emulation technology developed by Mentor Graphics®. In October of 2014 a jury found that Synopsys infringed several claims of the '376 Patent and awarded Mentor Graphics more than $36 million in damages, and in March 2015 Mentor Graphics obtained a permanent injunction against Synopsys' infringement. In parallel with the litigation, Synopsys petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office to review the validity of the claims of the '376 Patent. After a trial before the Patent Office, the validity of the patent claims asserted in the litigation was confirmed. Synopsys appealed to the Federal Circuit, which has now affirmed the Patent Office's decision.
"We were gratified by the Court's decision," said Tom Evans, corporate intellectual property counsel for Mentor Graphics. "The claims of the '376 patent that Synopsys was found to infringe were approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office when the patent issued, and again after Synopsys petitioned the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review those claims. This decision affirms the Patent Office's conclusions that the '376 patent covers innovative emulation technology, and validates Mentor's ongoing vigorous protection of this technology."
