The hearing is expected to last two weeks, which means it will probably be ongoing throughout this month's Design Automation Conference, where Avanti is a major exhibitor. The hearing will be held at Santa Clara County Superior Court.

At the hearing, Avanti is expected to argue that it should pay what the stolen code was worth, while Cadence will seek to recover what it believes is lost profits. Some observers have speculated that Judge Conrad Rushing may seek to make an example of Avanti and levy a fee that would bankrupt the company. But others feel the judge will seek to protect Avanti users, who will be placed in a difficult position if the company is severely hobbled.

In any case, the court will be treading on "uncharted ground" when it tries to determine restitution, noted Smith McKeithen, vice president and general counsel at Cadence. "In a normal criminal case, if someone steals a car, you look at the book value for it. It's fairly straightforward. But here, we need to understand from the judge what he wants presented," he said.

A figure in the hundreds of millions, McKeithen said, is justified, "if you look at our economic downside as a result of their theft of our code and trade secrets."

The restitution figure is independent of the $35 million in fines already levied against Avanti and seven individuals. Five defendants also face jail time. Meanwhile, Cadence is revitalizing a civil suit against Avanti that may seek up to a billion dollars in punitive damages.

Read EE Times' full coverage of this case.