Providers of electronic design automation software products Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) and Magma Design Automation Inc. (LAVA) revealed their agreement on early Friday to settle all pending litigation between the companies. Under the settlement, Synopsys and Magma will release all claims in both California and Delaware courts. The companies also decided to cross license the patents at issue in these jurisdictions as well as any related applications. In addition, a decision for not to initiate future patent litigation against each other for two years have been taken by the companies, provided certain terms are met.As per the deal, Magma will make a payment of $12.50 million to Mountain View, California-based Synopsys toward the settlement of this dispute. All other terms of the settlement are confidential.The California Patent case, which Synopsys filed in 2004, is one of two patent lawsuits between the two companies. Synopsys filed the second case in U.S. District Court for Delaware in 2005, in which the company asserts Magma infringes a Synopsys patent, while Magma claims Synopsys infringes four Magma patents. Commenting on the settlement, Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys, said, For us, this case has always been about the return of Synopsys technology and the protection of our IP, and we have achieved this. Looking forward, we will focus our energy fully toward our customers' success and concentrate on growing our business. Meanwhile, Magma's chairman and CEO Rajeev Madhavan commented, This unfortunate episode involved significant expense to both sides. I am pleased we found common ground for a resolution that makes business sense for both of us.In February, Synopsys noted that Magma requested the court to dismiss all anti-trust claims against Synopsys, and added that in return, Synopsys agreed not to pursue Magma for malicious prosecution or any other claims related to making anti-competitive accusations against Synopsys. The company then noted that the court was asked to dismiss all the claims with prejudice, meaning they cannot be revived. Both parties also agreed to formally dismiss three patents previously withdrawn from the case by the parties. Further, Synopsys said that with the formal dismissal of all antitrust claims and the withdrawal of the patents in the Delaware action, five patent claims would remain. The trial for these claims was scheduled for June 2007.Recently, on March 16, Magma said that the US Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, has approved its second request for reexamination of the company's patent that is at issue in the California patent infringement lawsuit with Synopsys. The second request for reexamination has been forwarded on the basis of additional prior art that Synopsys did not indicate in its application for patent. The PTO had dismissed the company's all 15 claims in the '114 patent, with respect to the earlier reexamination request.SNPS closed Thursday's regular trading session at $26.11, down $0.18 or 0.68%, on a volume of 659 thousand shares. LAVA closed Thursday's trading session at $10.22, on a 179thousand share volume.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.