Integrated circuit for preventing chip swapping and/or device cloning in a host device

Abstract

An integrated circuit is disclosed that can be included in a host electronic device that can be commonly manufactured, where the integrated circuit can be designated ('locked') for a specific manufacturer, thereby substantially reducing the likelihood that a third party will be able to successfully clone a host electronic device manufactured by the specific manufacturer and/or swap the chip containing the integrated circuit for one having more enabled features. The integrated circuit includes an ID module that can be programmed after fabrication. Components within the integrated circuit designate manufacturer-specific configurations (e.g., address mapping, pin routing and/or vital function releasing) based on the programmed manufacturer ID. As a result, once the integrated circuit has been programmed with the manufacturer ID, the integrated circuit will function correctly only within a host device manufactured by the manufacturer associated with the programmed manufacturer ID.