I was wondering about Intel buying RMBS myself. But about buying it and NOT necessarily giving it away.
This is an except from a message that I posted on the Intel board:
I wonder what the reaction is on this group to the RMBS lawsuit against Hitachi. Here is my take:
IF the Rambus patents hold up, they MAY mean that RAMBUS is entitled to royalties on all future production of not only RDRAM, but also DDR, plain ordinary PC66, PC100 and PC133 SDRAM and even many microprocessors (check the lawsuit at www.rambus.com -- many of the chips listed as specifically infringing are uPs, not memory).
AND, further, the lawsuit may entitle RMBS to RETROACTIVE royalties on such infringing chips going back to at least 1993.
AND, further, the lawsuit specifically charges that, in the case of Hitachi, at least, the infringement was WILLFUL. If the court agrees, then damages are tripled.
The potential here is staggering -- billions and billions of dollars. If this were to happen, I can see RMBS at many hundreds to perhaps thousands of dollars per share. A tripled judgement against Hitachi alone go for billions, which with a float of only 18 million shares, could be hundreds of dollars per share.
The risk is also staggering, of course -- RMBS is the biggest roller coaster I've ever been on.
Barry Watzman |
