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

To: Bilow who wrote (51856)	8/29/2000 8:04:24 PM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Hi all; New Semibiznews article on suit: Micron's suit accuses Rambus of trying to trick DRAM makers Complaint says industry being coerced with 'exorbitant royalties' in licensing negotiations Charging Rambus Inc. with trying to "coerce exorbitant royalties" from the DRAM industry, Micron Technology Inc.'s antitrust lawsuit will determine the validity of key patents that serve as the foundation for much of the computing world's memory requirements. ... According to Micron, Rambus is seeking to gain an unfair competitive advantage for Direct Rambus DRAM technology -- which to date has been more expensive than SDRAM to manufacture -- and as much as "admitted that it intends to charge more for licenses to SDRAM products that it views as a threat to its own RDRAM technology," said a copy of the suit. ... A Micron spokesman said despite the complaint, the chip maker will continue with plans to validate its Rambus prototypes. ... The looming court battle is expected to hinge on legal precedent set by Dell Computer Corp., which was found in 1996 by a federal court to have sought out royalties for patents that the company helped draft as part of open industry standards deliberations. A similar case involving Wang Laboratories was settled out of court, but is also expected to play a part in Micron's legal attack plan. Specifically, Micron is claiming that industry procedures required Rambus to disclose any pending patents related to the development of a synchronous interface when the topic was discussed from 1991 through 1996 during open JEDEC standards forums. By failing to disclose its development plans, Rambus in effect obtained information, which it then subverted to preempt competitors, Micron is charging. "Instead of offering a royalty-free or other reasonable license when it was obligated to do so, Rambus waited until the standards had been adopted and the industry had spent billions of dollars in reliance on the standards," the suit alleges. The same argument was presented earlier this year when Hitachi Ltd. fell under Rambus' legal crosshairs, but has never endured a legal test. Hitachi settled with Rambus before the case was brought to trial. semibiznews.com -- Carl