Thanks
@caredes for bringing to our attention. Its great to start with actual information!
Very promising info given AKP's earlier announcements.
This patent application by EM would undoubtedly only have been lodged after the solution was proven out. This is in line with Danny's comments in his announcements, which I have already reiterated here. The implication of them is that wafers must clearly
already be in production, and presumably at a
fairly late stage of production by now.
EM's engineering is also a very clever solution to the problems. Smart guys clearly. Good partners to have for a
fabless semiconductor manufacturer like AKP.
So: AKP own the patent IP that describes the functionality of the innovation the MEMS and the DSR describes. This is the product itself.
EM owns some patents that describe ways of making the product. This is production IP.
Together AKP and EM probably have fairly definitive IP covering "The Chip" as a commercial technology.
If AKP wanted to have a second line of FABs making the same chip they would have to turn to those outside FABs and have them replicate them according to their own expertise with their own equipment and processes. Other FABs could come up with other ways of doing so, or they could presumably pay EM the license fees to use their methods. The point is that AKP's designs can probably be made through different routes, but still be identical with identical performance characteristics.
(20min delay)