Semiconductor Intellectual Property: Changes in Market Direction

The 3rd Party Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP) market grew at just a 4.8% rate in 2008 as the global economic situation affected every part of the semiconductor market. This growth rate is much lower than historical trends and is forecast to extend into 2009 with only a 2.9% increase. However, the low growth rate for this year is a testament to the overall importance and strength of SIP as most other market segments are declining today. The SIP market will return to stronger growth in 2010 with a 6.4% rate, and continue to gather momentum from 2011 – 2013, even though the growth rates will still be somewhat below historical norms.

This report tracks the SIP market by the commonly accepted labels such as ‘Star’ and ‘Commodity’ SIP. In addition the report further breaks these categories down by more descriptive labels such as ‘Critical IP’, ‘Purpose-Built IP’ and ‘Chip Enhancement IP’. The report also tracks the SIP market by function such as Memory, CPU, DSP, Analog, Logic, Interface, Interconnect and Chip Enhancement IP.