Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2000/06/24/micron_holds_out_in_rambus/

Micron holds out in Rambus patent game

No parallels, necessarily

By Mike Magee

Posted in Channel, 24th June 2000 10:46 GMT

Hitachi may have come out of the patent trenches with its hands up, Toshiba may have surrended to Rambus, the Great Satan of IP, but Micron has not yet given up the ghost, it emerged late yesterday.

Responding to a question as to whether Micron would now license DDR (double data rate) and SDRAM (synchronous memory) patents, from Rambus, a representative late last night showed that her company, at least, was not a crumbly Dramurai.

As we reported early yesterday, Hitachi gave in fighting Rambus and struck a deal to license these patents, also agreeing to end different legal battles it had with the firm across the world.

But a Micron representative agreed with Intel CEO Craig Barrett that the memory IP game is not all done and dusted.

She told The Register: "Micron is aware of the recent agreements Rambus has made with Toshiba and Hitachi. Although we do not know the circumstances of these agreements and cannot comment on this issue, it is important that parallels not be drawn between what these two companies have done and what other semiconductor manufacturers will do. It is also important to understand that resolution of intellectual property issues is ongoing in this industry."

Yesterday, Rambus share price managed to reach the dizzy post-split heights of $127 during the trading day, finally closing at over $114, a rise of $17 compared to the night before.

Earlier in the week, Intel's "Ice Man", Craig Barrett, told us that the Toshiba settlement did not mean the game was over.

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