Secure exchange of information in electronic design automation

A method for secure exchange of rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits, the method comprising:

• annotating the rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits to select portions thereof to be secured, wherein the rules related to manufacture include rules regarding manufacturing constraints;
• securing the portions of the rules selected to be secured to generate secured rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits;
• annotating the rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits to indicate portions comprising the secured rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits;
• determining whether a current period is within a duration during which the secured rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits may be processed, wherein determining whether the current period is within the duration comprises generating a call back request to a server computer requesting confirmation that the current period is within the duration;
• and
• responsive to determining that the current period is within the duration:
• unlocking the secured rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits;
• receiving data related to one or more integrated circuit layouts;
• verifying whether the one or more integrated circuit layouts violate any of the rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits;
• and
• providing error reports indicating results of the verification without revealing at least some of the secured rules.

A system for secured exchange of electronic design automation information comprising:

• an electronic design automation tool operational for;
• receiving a file comprising secured electronic design automation information, wherein the secured electronic design automation information comprises rules related to manufacture of integrated circuits, including rules regarding manufacturing constraints;
• identifying the secured electronic design automation information within the file;
• determining whether one or more conditions for accessing at least some portion of the secured electronic design automation information within the file have been met;
• and
• responsive to determining that the one or more conditions have been met, accessing the at least some portion of the secured electronic design automation information to process the at least some portion of the secured electronic design automation information without revealing the at least some portion of the secured electronic design automation information;
• and
• a server computer operational for:
• providing the electronic design automation tool with one or more keys for accessing the at least some portion of the secured electronic design automation information;
• and
• in response to a call back request from the electronic design automation tool, providing, by the server computer, the electronic design automation tool with data confirming whether the one or more conditions for accessing the at least some portion of the secured electronic design automation information have been met.