ISMI Publishes Guidelines for Equipment IP Protection
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 1/15/2008
The International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI, Austin, Texas) announced a set of guidelines for protecting intellectual property (IP) within process equipment.
The goal is to embed IP protection in equipment software and create a secure framework for tools used by consortia and other collaborative R&D environments. The guidelines protect process recipes, run rates and equipment diagnostic information and encompass the need for key software security technologies, such as role-based security; a limited scope targeted at specific objects and tools; and multiple-use cases covering various combinations of chipmaker and supplier collaborations.
“There has been a question over how to strike a balance between sharing data for operations, and protecting IP investments,” said Scott Kramer, ISMI director.
Specific requirements include:
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Nondisclosure agreements that detail how technology and process data will be used in a collaboration.
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A system architecture with adequate controls for access, authentication, user credentials and information removal.
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Identification by chipmakers of process-related IP, and by toolmakers of equipment IP.
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Purging of all IP from each tool at the end of its life.
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