IPP Watermarking Technique for IP Core Protection on FPL Devices

This paper presents a technique for intellectual property protection (IPP) of systems to be implemented over programmable devices. The aim is to protect the author rights of reusable IP cores by means of a digital signature that uniquely identifies both the original design and the design recipient. The technique relies on a procedure that spreads a digital signature in cells of look-up tables of designs at HDL design level, not increasing the area of the system. The technique includes a procedure for signature extraction requiring minimal modifications to the system. So it is possible to detect the ownership rights without interfering the normal operation of the system. The IPP technique has been implemented on FPL devices, not disrupting the functionality neither significantly degrading the performance.