Hot off the press:
November 26, 2001
WSJ: Favorable Ruling For Infineon In Rambus Patent Case
By DON CLARK
Of The Wall Street Journal
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge issued another ruling in favor of Infineon Technologies A.G. (IFX) in a long-running patent battle with Rambus Technology Inc. (RMBS) over technology used in memory chips.
U.S. District Judge Robert Payne entered a permanent injunction that bars Rambus from asserting a series of patent claims against two classes of Infineon memory chips. The order follows earlier rulings that found Rambus guilty of fraud by not disclosing patents and patent applications to a standards body that set specifications that Infineon followed in designing its chips. The latest ruling extends legal protection to a relatively new category of memory chips known as double data-rate SDRAMs, as well as an earlier type that was directly associated with specifications set in 1995.
(This report and related background will be available at the Journal's Web site, WSJ.com.)
Gregory Arovas, an attorney for Infineon, termed the ruling a total victory for the company, which is based in Germany.
John Danforth, general counsel for Rambus, of Los Altos, Calif., said the company was still studying the ruling. But he said it appears that the order "builds on mistakes" the court made before that Rambus is appealing.
"It adds more mistakes that we will separately appeal," Danforth said.
The ruling was disclosed after stock markets closed. Rambus shares traded at 4 p.m. at $10.09, off 24 cents, on Nasdaq. Infineon Technologies AG (IFX) American depositary receipts rose $1.25 to $21.20 on the New York Stock Exchange |
