RMBS--Rambus countersues Micron, Hyundai in patent case
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept 11 (Reuters) - In the latest round of patent litigation among three top semiconductor companies, Rambus Inc. (NasdaqNM:RMBS - news) said on Monday it filed suit in Europe against two rivals who had already sued it in the United States.
In a statement, Mountain View, Calif.-based Rambus, a specialist in memory chip design, said it sued semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU - news) in Germany and France after failing to negotiate an intellectual property (IP) license to technology that speeds performance of microchips.
Micron preempted licensing talks this past August by filing a U.S. lawsuit against Rambus, alleging Rambus violated antitrust laws.
Rambus said it holds a European patent for technology used in Micron's SDRAM and DDR SDRAM memory devices, and that it is seeking injunctions to halt the sale, manufacture and use of those devices.
Rambus also filed suit in France and Germany against Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd. under similar circumstances.
Like Micron Technologies, Hyundai also filed suit against Rambus in the United States, arguing its memory chips did not infringe Rambus patents.
``IP is our business and we will not hesitate to protect our IP when it is being used without a license,'' said Geoff Tate, chief executive officer of Rambus.
Trial for the Rambus case against Micron Technologies has been set in Mannheim, Germany for February 16th, 2001. Trial in Germany for Rambus' case against Hyundai is anticipated to start in February 2001.
Micron and Hyundai have resisted attempts to license Rambus technology, saying it was gained through industry meetings in the early 1990's and is unpatentable.
Rambus developed the technology to speed up computer chip processing speed, and has licensed it to a number of memory chip makers. |
