Throughout his testimony over the past two weeks, Hsu, the highest-level Avanti executive scheduled to appear at the hearing, characterized database code as "low-level support code," and minimized the importance of the stolen code in Avanti's ArcCell, ArcGate and Aquarius place and route systems. The true value of a place and route system, Hsu said, comes from its placement, global routing and detailed routing.

In the cross examination Monday, Finkelstein likened the importance of database code to the transmission of an automobile. "You can put a 10,000-horsepower engine in a car," Finkelstein said, "but that car will be useless unless you have a transmission."

The hearing before Judge Conrad Rushing, now in its fourth week, will determine how much Avanti is to pay Cadence for the theft of Cadence's Symbad database code and Vsize optimization utility code. Avanti, its chairman, and six of its current or former employees pleaded no contest to the charges in May. Cadence has argued at the hearing that Avanti should pay it $700 million for its losses, and Avanti has argued that it should pay Cadence for the worth of the code — around $1 million.

Finkelstein showed the court several Avanti marketing documents and an S-1 form which referred to Avanti's database technology as the "foundation" of its place and route system. Finkelstein also pointed out that Avanti calls its database and support code development unit the "Foundation Group." "Why isn't it called the low-level support code group?" jibed Finkelstein.

Throughout the hearing, Cadence's legal counsel has focused on technical evidence, and Finkelstein has focused on Avanti's prolonged denial of the source code theft.

On Monday Finkelstein produced a string of advertisements and articles from publications including EE Times, The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle in which Avanti and its executives claimed that the company hadn't stolen Cadence code and said Cadence was accusing Avanti of stealing its code because it was losing market share to Avanti.

A most pointed moment came when Finkelstein presented a full-page Avanti advertisement that ran in The San Jose Mercury News in 1998 with the words "The Ugly Truth" in large, bold print, and a paragraph in fine print that refuted Cadence's claims of Avanti's theft. The ad also included what appeared to be a gross morphing of a photograph of Joseph Costello, then chief executive officer of Cadence, depicting him as a monster.

"Has Avanti every apologized to Costello?," Finkelstein asked. "Has it ever apologized to Cadence? Has it ever apologized to its own stockholders? Has it ever apologized to its own customers for selling them products built with stolen code? Isn't it time for Avanti to apologize?"

"I think we should," replied Hsu, who said that he and most of Avanti's staff was unaware the theft had taken place. They believed Cadence's allegations were unjust and had been levied to stop Avanti's momentum in the market, Hsu said. Thus, many Avanti employees interviewed for articles and in charge of advertising did not knowingly lie about the theft, he said.