Cadence Wins Injunction Against Avant

Cadence Design Systems Inc. said a federal judge ordered Avant Corp. to stop selling and using its ArcCell software, an expected move in Cadence’s copyright infringement suit against Avant. The order from U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose clarifies and reinforces his preliminary injunction of Dec. 19. At that time, Whyte also ordered Avant to turn over the design code for its next-generation products to Cadence so it could determine whether the products were based on its source code--the original form of a software program. The judge’s decision moves the focus to Avant’s new products, Aquarius and Apollo. Cadence is trying to prevent the sale and shipment of both products, which it says are derived from stolen code used in ArcCell. Avant officials weren’t immediately available to comment. San Jose-based Cadence shares fell 19 cents to close at $24.81 on the New York Stock Exchange; shares of Fremont-based Avant fell $1.31 to $16.38 on Nasdaq.