Rambus accepts lower damages from Hynix

Rambus has accepted the damages award granted to it by a jury following its patent clash victory over Hynix but last week slashed by the presiding judge. Hynix will pay the memory technology firm $133.6m instead of the originally awarded $306.5m.

The reduction was the result of Hynix claim that the jury-decided award was excessive. Judge Ronald Whyte of the Northern District of California concurred and offered Rambus the lower sum.

Rambus this week told the Court it will accept the smaller figure provided it doesn't include any interest accruing on the money for the period up to the judgement and any award for infringement after 31 December 2005. The original award was calculated on the basis that Hynix was judged to have infringed Rambus' intellectual property from June 2000 through to the end of 2005.

Despite the award, the case is far from over. Rambus has asked the Court to grant an injunction against Hynix banning the import into the US and the sale there of DRAM products that contain Rambus technology. Separately, Hynix has asked the Court to rule the patents at the heart of Rambus' infringement claims to be invalid. ®