Burying the hatchet

Not only do they give an edge in a highly competitive market, they can also provide an additional revenue stream if you're prepared to license your technology. Identifying patent infringements is a tricky business; the whole area is nuanced subtlely and it all comes down to lawyers arguing the toss in front of a judge who probably doesn't understand a word they're saying. Intel and AMD are two companies which have been figuratively at each other's throats for years, one alleging the other had transgressed; the other saying 'didn't too'. Recourse to law has evolved to the point where it seems to be part of the electronics industry's day to day operations – and the EDA world has similar goings on. The proceedings have, in pretty much all cases, been drawn out, more than a decade in some instances – the electronics industry's very own Jarndyce vs Jarndyce. The winner, undoubtedly, has been the legal profession. But they say that if you live long enough, you'll see everything. Perhaps we have seen everything now that Intel and AMD have buried the hatchet. Image courtesy of razorprices.com