The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Judge dismisses Hynix 'unclean hands' claim

Rambus patent infringement claims to come to trial in March

Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery

A US District Court judge has dismissed Hynix's request to chuck out the patent infringement case brought against it by Rambus.

Judge Ronald Whyte's ruling came at the end of a two-week period in which he heard Hynix's allegations that Rambus had destroyed and/or changed documents pertaining to the case.

However, Judge Whyte, of the US District Court of Northern California in San Jose, this week ruled that "Rambus did not engage in unlawful spoliation of evidence", the memory technology company announced today.

Judge Whyte's ruling paves the way for the case to come to trial, currently scheduled for 6 March. Rambus maintains Hynix knowingly violated its intellectual property rights by incorporating its technology in the South Korean memory-maker's DDR and DDR 2 SDRAM products.

The case comprises Hynix's original August 2000 lawsuit filed against Rambus in a bid to request a judgement rendering Rambus' patents invalid and seeking a summary judgement of non-infringement, along with Rambus' countersuit alleging patent infringement, filed in February 2001.

In January 2005, Judge Whyte ruled that Rambus had a case which Hynix must answer. Hynix's defence was to allege Rambus' hands were "unclean", having destroyed evidence that might favour the South Korean company's original claim. ®

Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider

More from The Register

 breaking news
BBC-featured call centre slapped with hefty fine for unwanted calls
PPI pests: Swansea-based firm stung for £225k by ICO
Microsoft to open Windows Stores inside 600 Best Buy locations
Product showcases 'must be seen to be believed'
 breaking news
What did the Lehman Brothers implosion look like to a techie?
Insider tells all about the Gnab Gib at Lehmans
 breaking news
The only Waze is Google: Ad giant tipped to gobble map app 'for $1.3bn'
Pac-Man-satnav-ish upstart in bidding war with Apple, Facebook
 breaking news
1-in-10 e-tomes 'are self-published'... most are 'rubbish' says book ed
Publishing man scoffs at go-it-alone writers, ursines still fouling in forests
 breaking news
Facebook RSS reader said to uncloak June 20
Secret event scooped by Scottish developer?
 breaking news
O2 averts strike action over mass Capita outsourcing deal
Details of new agreement not yet released