Rambus To Appeal Ruling In Infineon Case
Dow Jones Newswires
By Marcelo Prince
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -- A federal judge in Richmond, Va., dismissed on Friday afternoon the remaining patent infringement claims Rambus Inc. (RMBS) had brought against Infineon Technologies AG (IFX).
Rambus, a semiconductor firm, filed lawsuits against Infineon in September in Germany and Virginia claiming certain Infineon computer memory devices infringed on four Rambus patents.
On Monday, the court dismissed 54 of the 57 patent infringement claims that Rambus had brought against the German company. Friday it granted Infineon's petition to dismiss the remaining claims.
In a press release, Rambus CEO Geoff Tate said the company was disappointed by the court's decision and planned an appeal. It still intends to pursue lawsuits it has brought against Infineon and other semiconductor makers relating to other Rambus patents.
Shares of Rambus fell before being halted from trading on the Nasdaq as news of the ruling was spread by Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Edelstone. He downgraded his rating on Rambus because of the decision.
It last trafficked down $2.38 at $15.77.
In addition to this case, Rambus said there are a dozen U.S. and European patents involved in other infringement cases pending against Infineon, Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. (Q.HEL) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU).
Rambus said it will continue to fight to protect its intellectual property, and intends to pursue several other related cases vigorously, including a trial against Infineon in Germany currently scheduled for May 18.
Rambus also holds newly issued U.S. and European patents covering Rambus inventions used by SDRAMs and DDR SDRAMs that are not involved in litigation and not impacted by the court's decision.
"It is our right, and indeed our obligation to our shareholders, to take all appropriate measures to protect our patented innovations," said Chief Executive Tate. "Though Rambus is a relatively small company, we will not be cowed by the aggressive tactics of some industry giants who would take our innovations without any compensation."
An Infineon spokesman said the company has no comment at this time. Rambus officials weren't immediately available for further comment.
Last month, Rambus said litigation expenses rose sharply at the end of the second quarter due to Infineon's late production of documents in the Richmond case, which resulted in additional depositions.
The company's second quarter operating earnings of $8.2 million, or 8 cents a diluted share, missed analysts' consensus estimates by 3 cents after declining SDRAM prices and litigation costs.
Rambus, which derives the majority of its royalties from SDRAM-compatible ICs, said in April that it expects expenses to remain level in the third quarter, but total revenue from current licenses is expected to decline 20% sequentially in the third quarter, plus or minus several points.
Rambus's litigation expenses exceeded its expectations because of delays in the Infineon case as well as in its patent litigation with Hyundai and Micron Technology.
Last August, Micron sued Rambus for alleged violations of federal antitrust laws, and the invalidity, non-infringement and non-enforceability of certain Rambus patents.
Hyundai filed a suit seeking a court order to declare its products don't infringe Rambus patents.
In September, Rambus filed its own patent infringement suits against Hyundai and Micron and also asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate "unlawful importation" of Hyundai SDRAM and DDR SDRAM memory products which Rambus said are covered by its patents.
On Feb. 13, Rambus said the judge in the suit against Hyundai and Micron Technologies delayed the trial on the substantive issues and focused instead on procedural issues.
Infineon's shares were trading recently at $42.40, up $2.15, or 5.3%, on New York Stock Exchange volume of 520,800 shares. Average daily volume is 141,821 shares.
Rambus shares were recently down 19.6% at $14.60 on Nasdaq. |
