Big Rambus Loss

May 1, 2001 6:43 AM

For those of you following the Rambus - Infineon Technologies lawsuit where Rambus is trying to prove Infineon is infringing on Rambus patents, it isn't looking good for Rambus. In fact the judge yesterday threw out most of the case saying that Rambus didn't provide enough evidence that Infineon had infringed on their patents to SDRAM and double-data-rate SDRAM technology. There are now only some minor claims left, but the judge won't find Infineon guilty of willfully violating Rambus' patents. Looks like Rambus wasted a few million in lawyer costs. Thanks deternal.

In presenting its case, Rambus argued that Infineon's own data sheets describing how its SDRAM and DDR SDRAM devices work proved that the company violated a number of Rambus' patents. Judge Payne rejected the argument, however, saying that Rambus was obligated to prove exactly how Infineon's memory chips violated each of the patents named in the case. He also rejected Rambus' allegations that Infineon had acted willfully in violating the company's technology rights.