ISMI Introduces Guidelines to Protect IP in Semiconductor Industry

AUSTIN, Texas--(Business Wire)--Looking to balance the necessity of R&D collaboration with the
need for competitive advantage, the International SEMATECH
Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) has published the semiconductor
industry's first guidelines for protecting intellectual property (IP)
within process equipment.

The guidelines, developed for ISMI's member companies as well as
the industry, provide a security framework for protecting the
integrity of proprietary information in tools used by semiconductor
consortia and other collaborations. The IP targeted for protection
includes both chip-maker and supplier data, such as processing
recipes, run rates, and equipment diagnostic information.

"Collaboration is critical to the financial success of suppliers
and manufacturers alike, but there's been a question over how to
strike a balance between sharing data for operations, and protecting
IP investments," said Scott Kramer, ISMI director. "ISMI's answer is
that IP protection must be more than a business process - it needs to
be embedded in equipment software."

ISMI produced the equipment security guidelines at the request of
its member companies, who collaborated on the development of the IP
protection requirements. These included 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 chip-maker and supplier
collaborations.

The ISMI security framework specifies the essential components of
information security at the business level, defines the needed levels
of IP protection capability, and outlines roles and responsibilities
for IC makers, foundries, and tool suppliers. Specific requirements
include:

-- Nondisclosure agreements that detail how technology and
process data will be used in a collaboration

-- A system architecture with adequate controls for access,
authentication, user credentials, and information removal

-- Identification by chip-makers of process-related IP, and by
tool-makers of equipment IP

-- Purging of all IP from each tool at the end of its life

"Protecting IP is critical to the long-term financial success of
the semiconductor industry, and it's a shared responsibility involving
chip-makers, tool suppliers, and foundries," Kramer noted.
"Intellectual property must be protected from the time information
becomes valuable throughout its entire life cycle."

The ISMI guidelines, Semiconductor Equipment Security Guidelines,
Intellectual Property Protection, are available to the public and can
be found in the Manufacturing Methods technical publications
(http://ismi.sematech.org/docubase/wrappers/19.htm) on the ISMI
website.

ISMI is a global alliance of the world's major semiconductor
manufacturers, dedicated to reducing cost per wafer, and ultimately
cost per die, through cooperative programs focused on manufacturing
effectiveness. The consortium conducts programs in manufacturing
infrastructure, methods, standards, and productivity, with the aim of
reducing the costs of producing finished wafers and chips and driving
solutions to major productivity challenges. ISMI is a wholly owned
subsidiary of SEMATECH of Austin, TX. More information is available at
http://ismi.sematech.org/corporate/index.htm.

International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative
Anne Englander, 512-356-7155
anne.englander@sematech.org

Copyright Business Wire 2008