semibiznews.com
This article is a classic example of unsupported opinion, masquerading as journalism. Parts of it are so comical, if I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a parody of itself.
Some examples (article in quotes; my comments out of quotes):
"Analysis: Infineon won't be alone in fight
against Rambus
By Jack Robertson
Electronic Buyers' News
(08/18/00, 06:08:30 PM EDT)"
As you will see from reading the article, there is absolutely no evidence that anyone will join Infineon in the battle. Though I would not rule out someone joining them, the article could equally read "Infineon will be alone in battle against Rambus," just as Hitachi was in the end. Uh, is this the same guy who wrote on March 23, 2000 that, "Most memory chip makers have rallied behind Hitachi in that firm's legal battle with Rambus"? eocenter.com
"WASHINGTON -- Rambus Inc. has given the DRAM industry what it has
longcoveted: a definitive lawsuit to challenge the validity of Rambus' patents on
synchronous DRAMs and logic interfaces. DRAM protagonists have been
considering filing a patent suit against Rambus, which has now obliged them by
suing Infineon Technologies AG for patent violations."
This claim is a real joke. What exactly was the Hitachi lawsuit? Chopped liver? Come on, it's the exact same case that Hitachi caved on. As for these unnamed "DRAM protagonists," this is a classic example of making an unsupported assertion, incapable of refutation; how can one challenge an unnamed protagonist? How can one refute a claim that these unnamed soldiers were "considering filing a patent suit against Rambus," especially where no sources are cited. Moreover, who would believe these unnamed cowards? This is silly.
"After licensing its SDRAM technology to three Japanese DRAM makers, Rambus
is carrying through on threats to sue recalcitrant chip makers that are balking at
coming to terms with the design firm. By taking on Infineon, which is still
majority-owned by German giant Siemens AG, Rambus has dispelled all charges
that it is only going after DRAM companies likely to become licensees rather than
endure a long legal fight."
Lemme see if I got this straight: Hitachi was a "DRAM compa[y] likely to become a licensee[] rather than
endure a long legal fight"? Uh, does this guy really think everyone was asleep during the last six months?
"The U.S. patent suit was filed in Virginia federal court against Infineon after it
appeared that licensing negotiations had broken down, said Avo Kanadjian,
Rambus' vice president of worldwide marketing (see Aug. 11 story). Discussions
between the two companies, according to Kanadjian, resumed following filing of
the suit. But Infineon, having just been sued by Rambus, was allegedly not very
receptive to the idea of renewed talks."
Oh, they were not receptive, huh? I love this "reportedly" guy; he seems to spring up a lot in Roberstson's prose.
"On Monday, in fact, Infineon vowed to fight the Rambus suit vigorously (see Aug.
14 story). Analysts noted that Infineon isn't likely to agree to an out-of-court
settlement, as Hitachi Ltd. did recently."
Right, "analsyts" surely predicted the Hitachi caving as well as the Toshiba deal. I wish I knew these analysts to see what their secret is. Actually, their greatest secret is... shhhh.... they don't exist. As for fighting vigorously, yes of course defendants in lawsuits usually announce that they are going to roll over and cave.
""Infineon has almost nothing to gain by backing down," said Bob Merritt, an
analyst at Semico Research Corp. in Redwood City, Calif. "Hitachi got a great
deal from Rambus in settling: royalties to Rambus are applicable only until the
end of the year, when Hitachi and NEC merge their DRAM design and marketing
operations. And with Rambus dropping Sega Enterprises [which uses Hitachi
chips in its Dreamcast game player] from the suit, Hitachi protected one of its
prime customers." Infineon apparently was close to filing a patent-infringement
suit of its own against Rambus when the Mountain View, Calif., company beat it
to the punch. An ad hoc industry group of DRAM and logic-chip makers and some
OEMs have been meeting for more than two months to consider possible
counteractions against the aggressive licensing campaign Rambus has been
waging for its patents."
Oh ya, great deal. I guess RMBS should have forced Hitachi to continue making DRAM as part of the deal. Tell you what, it's such a great deal, five will give you ten that Infineon will sign up for it, too. By the way, can anyone guess how long it takes unnamed DRAMurai to "consider" filing something? RMBS is so lucky that they were just considering it; if they actually filed, could you imagine the horror? Scaaary.
"While some DRAM companies were purportedly reluctant to take the lead in filing
suit against Rambus, Infineon was said to have thought about spearheading such
an initiative. A spokesman at Infineon's headquarters in Munich said he knew
nothing about such a possibility."
Ah, the one time our good friend Jack cites to a source, the source completely rejects his thesis! Hysterical! Let's see, I believe the "reportedly" guy much more than the official spokesman, because "reportedly" a lot more friendly to me. By the way, what would be the downside in Infineon admitting that they were considering filing suit if it were true? Given that RMBS already filed suit, there really would be no reason to deny it if it were true.
"In addition to the ad hoc group's activities, the industry's Advanced DRAM
Technology alliance has pondered filing an antitrust complaint against Rambus
with the Federal Trade Commission. The charge would be similar to the
now-dropped Hitachi defense that Rambus used data obtained from the
open-standards deliberations of the Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council
(JEDEC) as the basis for its patents. Hitachi claimed, as will the alliance if it does
file with the FTC, that Rambus is now attempting to use those patents to restrain
trade by charging high licensing fees on single-data-rate and double-data-rate
SDRAM, putting competitors at a disadvantage vis-a-vis Direct Rambus DRAM."
Oh, time for "pondering." That's a little deeper than "considering." Of course, that's what my "sources" tell me.
The alliance, however, apparently has one major defector--Intel Corp., which quit
the discussions after initial news reports of the appeared on the meetings (see
March 1 story).
"Pat Gelsinger, vice president and chief technology officer of the Intel architecture
group and the company's representative at the alliance meetings, blamed several
DRAM members-including Hyundai, Infineon, Micron, NEC, and Samsung-for
leaking reports that Intel was participating in the discussions. Sources said he
claimed Intel no longer had confidence that the alliance's antitrust deliberations
would remain confidential. An Intel spokesman said the company routinely doesn't comment on reports from
industry sources who can't be identified. Gelsinger couldn't be reached for
comment. Meanwhile, DRAM makers are lining up to support Infineon in its
defense against Rambus. As reported previously, a large number of DRAM
suppliers had rallied around Hitachi after Rambus filed suit against it."
This is one of my all time favorites: "An Intel spokesman said the company routinely doesn't comment on reports from
industry sources who can't be identified." I guess Jack gets very few comments from Intel since none of his "sources" are ever identified. Hmmm. I wonder why Semico seems to pop up so much in his articles. Hmmm. Don't they put on some fun DDR events and consult on DDR issues? Hmmm.
"According to sources, companies scoured their patent portfolios to find what they
claimed were prior inventions of SDRAM technology. That research effort
continued even after Hitachi settled with Rambus, and the library of industry
patents related to SDRAMs is now expected to be available to Infineon."
I'd love to see this great library which resulted in Toshiba and Hitachi caving. Maybe, Toshiba and Hitachi were too busy to be bothered reading, and instead preferred to pay millions in royalties just for the fun of it.
"Sources also said that JEDEC, which has considered it inappropriate to take any
action against Rambus, will now be able to file a friend-of-the-court brief detailing
its position. As for the ad hoc industry group, it has not come to a final agreement
on what pre-emptive strike, if any, to take against Rambus. Sources said there is
concern that any united action might create an unfavorable image of the industry
as ganging up on Rambus. Even Infineon is reportedly worried about a backlash
resulting from the appearance of a foreign electronics giant attacking a small U.S.
high-tech company."
Poor, RMBS. Please don't pick on us. Yes, we own all the patents and have outwitted every adversary, but please be nice to us.
"Semico's Merritt notes, however, that Rambus appears now to have alleviated all
these concerns by throwing the first legal punch, opening the way for a final
determination on the validity of Rambus' SDRAM patent and licensing strategy."
Ah, yes. The evil RMBS will soon be conquered. Unless, of course, they win again.
Bets anyone?
The Prophet |
