Rambus calls Micron lawsuit 'weak,' 'misleading' -- Memory maker alleges design firm violated JEDEC protocol
Sep. 15, 2000 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- Rambus Inc. last week
denied charges leveled by Micron Technology Inc. that the design company has
violated antitrust laws and should have patents related to key memory technology
overturned by a U.S. court.
Two weeks ago, Micron filed suit in Delaware federal court alleging that Rambus'
synchronous-interface patents are "unenforceable" because the design firm failed
to follow the rules of participation when it engaged in an open forum hosted by
the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC).
According to JEDEC protocol, companies participating in open-industry-standards
deliberations are required to disclose any patents pending that are related to
the topic under discussion. Boise, Idaho-based Micron claimed Rambus violated
that rule when it joined JEDEC standards meetings to discuss the development of
SDRAM but failed to disclose it was filing for patents on the technology. In a
presentation to financial analysts, Neil Steinberg, vice president of
intellectual property at Rambus, Mountain View, Calif., said that during the
four years from 1992-96 that Rambus was part of the JEDEC discussions, the
company voted on only one synchronous standard-a negative vote related to the
mode register for SDRAM. He said since Rambus had no pending patent application
at that time on the mode register, it had nothing to disclose to JEDEC.
Steinberg said Rambus filed its SDRAM and logic-interface patent claims two
years after leaving JEDEC in 1996. He also said Rambus wasn't a JEDEC member
during the period the group was drafting its double-data-rate SDRAM standard, to
which Rambus is also claiming rights.
Steinberg told analysts that Rambus had conducted an extensive investigation of
prior synchronous-technology inventions before filing its patent applications.
Rambus concluded there were no prior inventions, which cleared the way for it to
file its applications.
Rambus last week called the Micron suit weak and said it contains misleading and
inaccurate statements. The company similarly rebuffed a separate suit filed by
Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd., which is seeking to invalidate the
Rambus patents based on a claim of prior art and invention.
Rambus told analysts it was prepared to bear the legal expenses of the various
suits in which it is engaged. The first court hearings could come in German,
French, and British courts, sources said.
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