Trouble:
The New York Times:
May 9, 2001
Jury Finds Rambus Liable for Fraud
By REUTERS
Filed at 5:54 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal jury on
Wednesday ordered Rambus Inc. (RMBS.O),
whose technology helps boost the performance of
memory microchips, to pay $3.5 million in punitive
damages after finding it liable for fraud in a dispute
with German semiconductor maker Infineon
Technologies AG IFXGn.DE (IFX.N).
Los Altos, Calif.-based Rambus said that it would immediately appeal, and file briefs with the
U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to set aside the verdict.
Infineon alleged that Rambus deliberately hid the fact it was applying for patents for
synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) chips at the same time JEDEC, an
industry group, was developing common standards for the chips.
``We said that Rambus attended JEDEC meetings and then drafted the (patent) claims onto the
JEDEC standard intentionally, and the jury agreed with us,'' said John Desmarais of
international law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which represents Infineon.
Rambus did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but in a statement Chief
Executive Geoff Tate said: ``The innovations at issue are Rambus inventions and the evidence
presented at trial made it clear that Infineon knew all along that they were Rambus inventions.''
SDRAM chips transfer data more quickly than older types of memory, matching the speed of
the ever-faster microprocessors in personal computers.
Wednesday's ruling comes after U.S. District Judge Robert Payne on May 4 tossed out the
three remaining patent infringement claims of more than 50 filed by Rambus against Infineon
over SDRAM chips. Rambus has said it will appeal that ruling as well.
Rambus shares closed down 90 cents to $12.80 on the Nasdaq, a 52-week low. In after-hours
trading, Rambus shares fell to $12.40 in light trading, according to Instinet. Infineon shares
closed down $1.90, to $39.90. |
