rambus

Micron Technology has prevailed in an important multi-billion dollar lawsuit brought against it and others by Rambus, a company not shy about suing memory chipmakers. Rambus saw its stock price nosedive as a result.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron, one of the world's largest memory chipmakers, said today that a jury in the California state court antitrust trial of Rambus v. Micron Technology reached a verdict in its favor, clearing it of all liability.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Rambus, a chip design house, alleged that Micron, Hynix Semiconductor and others conspired to keep Rambus-designed DRAM (RDRAM) chips out of the memory market. … Read more

Rambus, a company best known for its PC memory technology, has developed a process for making flat LED plates to replace overhead office lighting.

The company on Wednesday at the Lightfair Intenrational conference will show off prototypes of a system that it says can lower the manufacturing costs of LED lighting for commercial buildings and flat-panel displays.

Last year, Rambus bought patents from Global Lighting Technologies related to components of a flat LED fixture. Having developed product prototypes and a manufacturing process, Rambus is now seeking to license that technology to other companies, executives said on Monday.

The technology itself … Read more

In an initial determination, U.S. International Trade Commission judge ruled on Friday that graphics chipmaker Nvidia has violated three patents belonging to Rambus.

Nvidia was cleared of infringement by the ITC judge on two other Rambus patents under examination, however. The litigation involves memory controllers--which handle communications between memory chips and other silicon--related to graphics processors.

Rambus first filed patent claims against Nvidia in July 2008. In November of that year, it asked the ITC for an injunction on the import and sale of anything using Nvidia's memory controllers.

"We are pleased with the initial determination from … Read more

Samsung Electronics and Rambus said Tuesday that they have reached an agreement settling all claims between them and the licensing of Rambus' patent portfolio for all Samsung semiconductor products.

Under the agreement, Samsung will initially pay Rambus $200 million. In addition, the South Korean electronics company will make quarterly payments of about $25 million over five years and agree to purchase $200 million worth of Rambus stock. In total, about $900 million.

The agreement includes a perpetual fully paid-up license to certain current dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products. DRAM chips are used as the main memory for PCs.

In addition, Samsung and Rambus have signed a memorandum of understanding covering a new generation of memory technologies which combines Samsung's and Rambus' memory technologies. Rambus' expertise lies in high-performance memory interfaces.

The two companies will initially focus on graphics and mobile memory solutions and will further review a potential collaboration on server and high-speed NAND flash memories, the companies said.

The settlement came just as Rambus was set to go to trial against Samsung, Hynix Semiconductor, and Micron Technology.

Rambus has a long and convoluted history of lawsuits and legal action.… Read more

According to Nvidia on Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has initially rejected an additional eight Rambus claims that Nvidia challenged.

The additional eight claims are based on two patents that Rambus has asserted against Nvidia in litigation. This follows the USPTO's rejection last month of 41 other claims in seven patents that Rambus had asserted, Nvidia said.

Rambus filed patent claims against Nvidia in an International Trade Commission action in November. The ITC litigation involves memory controllers--which handle communications between memory chips and other silicon--related to graphics processors.

"We are pleased that the USPTO decided … Read more

Rambus has asked the International Trade Commission to terminate an investigation of Nvidia relating to four patents as part of a November 2008 complaint.

Rambus provides high-speed memory interface technology, though in recent years the company has become better-known for intellectual property litigation practices. Rambus has sued many of the world's largest chip manufacturers.

The Los Altos, Calif.-based company conceded before the ITC that Nvidia products do not infringe on its four patents, and also asked for termination of several claims from a fifth patent in the ITC action, according to an Nvidia statement.

"We are pleased … Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court handed chip designer Rambus a victory Monday, when it refused to hear an appeal by the Federal Trade Commission that alleged the chip designer violated antitrust laws under the Sherman Act.

For Rambus, it ends a seven-year battle with the Federal Trade Commission over its Sherman Act litigation, which alleged in 2002 that the chipmaker intentionally withheld its patent plans from a standards body, which later gave the green light to some of its technology that is now found in the vast majority of PCs and servers around the world.

"It's a good … Read more

A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday postponed indefinitely the coordinated patent infringement cases filed by Rambus against a collection of rival memory chipmakers.

The cases were scheduled to go to trial later this month.

Judge Ronald M. Whyte of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order indefinitely postponing the long-running cases against Hynix Semiconductor, Micron Technology, Nanya Technology, and Samsung Electronics, pending appeals of earlier court decisions.

Shares of Los Altos, Calif.-based Rambus, which licenses technology for high-speed memory architectures, plunged 22 percent in after-hours trading, or $2, to $6.95. … Read more

In a U.S. District Court patent ruling against Rambus, the judge highlighted some of the company's aggressive tactics for targeting and suing memory chip manufacturers.

On Friday, Judge Sue L. Robinson, in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, ruled that Rambus' patent suit against Micron Technology is "unenforceable," citing "spoliation," defined as the "destruction or alteration of evidence." This occurs when a party has "intentionally or negligently breached its duty to preserve potentially discoverable evidence," Judge Robinson wrote in her opinion.

As a result, 12 Rambus patents are not … Read more