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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gnuman who wrote (46226)	6/28/2000 11:22:00 AM
From: chic_hearne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Gene, more Via news. This is from a Bloomberg article and not a Yahoo message board poster, so it may not be the most reliable source. ;-) Via Tech of Taiwan Vows to Fight Rambus, Foster Competition By Chad Rademan Taipei, June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Via Technologies Inc., the world's second-largest computer chipset supplier after Intel Corp., said it will fight efforts by Rambus Inc. of the U.S. to collect royalty payments for an increasingly popular chip technology. Via said it doesn't need to pay Rambus because a high-speed memory chip standard called double data rate, or DDR, was developed under the auspices of the Jedec Solid State Technology Association, a 40-year-old group that sets standards for the semiconductor industry. The Taiwan company is ``a strong believer in enabling open access standards,'' Via President Chen Wen-chi said in a statement. It plans to introduce DDR chipsets later this year despite attempts by Rambus to control the technology. Via's objections could thwart Rambus and Intel, a major shareholder of the Mountain View, California-based company, in their efforts to build support for the Rambus standard. Rambus shares almost doubled during the past two weeks after Toshiba Corp. agreed to pay it royalties for using DDR. Via's shares fell 8 percent since Rambus signed its agreement with Toshiba on concern that its chipsets -- which sit between a computer's processor and memory chips and are designed to couple with the DDR standard -- may also come under scrutiny by Rambus. In a worst-case scenario, Via could end up having to pay royalties to Rambus, or be pressured to give up alternate chip standards and switch to another Rambus-owned standard. Via shares tumbled 3.1 percent today to NT$505. Rambus shares fell 8 47/64 in New York trading yesterday to 108 41/64, up from just 50 1/2 on June 6. Price Matters Granted, the agreements that Rambus signed with Toshiba and, separately, with Hitachi Ltd., aren't definitive, analysts said. ``Right now, it's not officially proved that Rambus is going to have any absolute right to claim patent violations,'' said Rick Hsu, an analyst at Grand Cathay Securities Corp. The dispute isn't the first time that Via and Rambus have crossed swords. Via has pioneered chipset standards for memory chips that don't use Rambus designs. Via's production of chipsets for the current PC-133 standard allows memory manufacturers and personal computer systems makers to avoid using the more costly Rambus technology. The standards developed by Rambus, though faster, are more expensive -- a major issue in today's price-sensitive market for personal computers. Via will start regular commercial shipments of DDR-compatible chipsets in the fourth quarter of this year and expects the existing PC-133 standard to exist side-by-side until DDR takes over as the major standard in mid-2001. Rival chipset maker Silicon Integrated Systems Co. plans to introduce DDR chipsets later this year in tandem with DDR memory by companies such as Mosel Vitelic Inc. For now, Via said it's ready to fight. ``Memory companies aren't very happy with Rambus'' for trying to collect payments on DDR, said Shane Dennison, a Via spokesman. ``Via has absolutely no interest in pursuing Rambus (standards) now. It's not a viable option.'' quote.bloomberg.com