Thursday, March 27, 2008
Rambus won a major court victory Wednesday in its decade-long effort to get royalties from the world's major DRAM makers.
After a seven-week trial, a San Jose jury deliberated just a few hours before deciding that Rambus didn't violate antitrust or fraud laws when it patented technologies that an industry group ultimately adopted into the standards for DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips. DRAMs play a vital role in handling data in PCs, game machines and other electronic devices.
The decision in U.S. District Court increases the likelihood that Rambus eventually will be able to collect hundreds of millions or possibly even billions of dollars in royalties for its inventions. Investors salivating at the prospect of a big payout sent Rambus shares up 39 percent, or $7.25, to $25.86 in trading Wednesday.
"We're very pleased with the verdict today," said Rambus General Counsel Tom Lavelle. "Over the years, the company has got a tarnished reputation. I hope this is the beginning of turning that around."
Rambus could now ask Judge Ronald Whyte to order one of the memory makers, Hynix Semiconductor, to pay Rambus $133 million in back royalties, plus interest and additional royalties incurred since 2006. In an earlier phase of the San Jose case, a jury found that Hynix infringed on Rambus' patents but the payment was suspended
Despite Wednesday's verdict, the larger war between Rambus and the memory makers will probably continue unabated. The two sides have spent many years accusing each other of deceptive and monopolistic behavior in legal venues across the country and in the European Union.
A number of cases remain active, including Rambus' appeal of a 2006 Federal Trade Commission ruling that found Rambus did deceive the industry - the opposite of the conclusion reached by the San Jose jury, which reviewed much the same evidence.
With billions of dollars at stake, all the parties have a huge financial incentive to keep fighting rather than settle their disputes.
Indeed, the three memory makers that brought the San Jose case against Rambus - Hynix, Micron Technology and Nanya Technology - immediately vowed to appeal the jury verdict.
By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved
|
