In the 1960s, it was predicted that the number of components in an integrated circuit would double every year for at least the next decade. This became known as Moore’s law. Broadly speaking, this trend has endured, driven by increases in computing power desired by users, and facilitated by innovations in semiconductor fabrication technology.

Within this computing arms race, intellectual property is of fundamental importance. The field of computer hardware has historically been dominated by a small number of industry giants, with a more recent trend toward agile start-ups. From CISC to RISC, often different technical strategies have been pursued in the computing industry, with intellectual property being strategically employed to attain commercial and technical advantage.

Computer hardware technology has developed not only to support increasing computing power, but also to provide increased data storage capacity, reduced power consumption and, more recently, hardware that is specifically adapted to support AI. With the significant costs associated with the development of computer hardware, intellectual property is used to ensure a return on investment in this area by ensuring market exclusivity or by generating licencing income.

Many of HGF’s specialists have academic qualifications associated with computer hardware and semiconductor technology, ensuring a deep technical understanding of innovations in this area.