Rambus wins big in monopoly ding-dong
But must still overturn FTC ruling
Rambus won big in the courtroom today, with a jury deciding the company had properly obtained patents for technology later incorporated into fast memory chip standards. So it's not a cheating monopoly after all, as memory chip makers Hynix, Micron and Nanya had sought to establish in US District Court in San Jose, California.
The ruling could be a nice money earner for Rambus, which says the verdict should enable it to collect $133.6m in damages it won against Hynix in a jury trial in April 2006. Rambus also stands to collect from the memory chip makers, but obstacles remain in its way.
In a valedictory statement Rambus general counsel Tom Lavelle said the ruling should "put to rest a series of ongoing allegations Rambus has endured for many years. Our business is to license our revolutionary technology to the industry for fair compensation. We are pleased to have this decision behind us as we continue to engage with the industry to deliver compelling products to the market."
Not so fast, Tom. Micron already plans to appeal. "Micron believes that Rambus has engaged in a pattern of deception, destruction of evidence, false testimony and other improper activities designed to mislead and to extract unjust patent licensing fees and damages. We will continue to vigorously advance our claims that Rambus has engaged in a variety of illegal activities designed to injure Micron,” said Rod Lewis, Micron’s top lawyer.
And then there is the small matter of the 2006 Federal Trade Commission ruling that Rambus illegally engaged in monopolistic behaviour through patent ambush of JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council), the memory standard-setting body. Rambus is appealing that one and hopes for a verdict this summer.
And what about the European Commission? Last year, it entered the fray through a "statement of objection", accusing Rambus of patent ambush too. The Commission has been quiet on the matter since then, which could be ominous. ®
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COMMENTS
Re:Your Rambus Bias is Showing
Please. Who are you kidding with your hogwash about the American legal system and the socialist leanings of the EU?
Your justice system is a joke, just like your patent system. Get real and stop drinking your koolaid. You give Americans a bad reputation.
Oh, how did they mess up so bad
I remember the days when Intel chose Rambus to be the supplier of memory to their next generation of chipsets.
Rambus share price shot up, imagine you had to use Rambus Technology to power your machine.
But Rambus got greedy, wanted the whole market to themselves and wouldn't share. Charged too much for memory (in relation to CPU prices at the time that is) and got stung. The industry created an Alternative (DDR1), Intel dumped Rambus as soon as they realised the VD that they were and the share price went down the toilet.
Today all they have left is to sue people to keep the company alive, how sad but that is the American way...... Remember Pride or in this case Greed, always comes before a fall....
The American Legal System
In the United States, federal judges are appointed to the bench by the president of the united states, but they must be confirmed by the senate, its a lifetime appointment.
state and county superior court judges are also appointed, by the governor of each state, they are appointed for a 4 year term, they then go up in front of the voters to renew their term, in Arizona at least, when the judges are put on the ballot, they face no competition, nor can they campaign, its simply a yes or no vote to whether or not the judge stays on the bench...
The only elected judges are Justice of the peace, which campaign and are elected by political process, justice of the peace, for lack of a better term are baby judges, they can only handle civil claims worth $2500 or less and criminal cases that carry less than 18 month jail terms... they are not required to have any legal experience what so ever.
Paris, because shes just as dense as several of the people who have commented on this story...
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