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

To: Don Green who wrote (53558)	9/15/2000 11:58:10 PM
From: Don Green	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Rambus calls Micron lawsuit 'weak,' 'misleading' -- Memory maker alleges design firm violated JEDEC protocol Sep. 15, 2000 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- Rambus Inc. last week denied charges leveled by Micron Technology Inc. that the design company has violated antitrust laws and should have patents related to key memory technology overturned by a U.S. court. Two weeks ago, Micron filed suit in Delaware federal court alleging that Rambus' synchronous-interface patents are "unenforceable" because the design firm failed to follow the rules of participation when it engaged in an open forum hosted by the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC). According to JEDEC protocol, companies participating in open-industry-standards deliberations are required to disclose any patents pending that are related to the topic under discussion. Boise, Idaho-based Micron claimed Rambus violated that rule when it joined JEDEC standards meetings to discuss the development of SDRAM but failed to disclose it was filing for patents on the technology. In a presentation to financial analysts, Neil Steinberg, vice president of intellectual property at Rambus, Mountain View, Calif., said that during the four years from 1992-96 that Rambus was part of the JEDEC discussions, the company voted on only one synchronous standard-a negative vote related to the mode register for SDRAM. He said since Rambus had no pending patent application at that time on the mode register, it had nothing to disclose to JEDEC. Steinberg said Rambus filed its SDRAM and logic-interface patent claims two years after leaving JEDEC in 1996. He also said Rambus wasn't a JEDEC member during the period the group was drafting its double-data-rate SDRAM standard, to which Rambus is also claiming rights. Steinberg told analysts that Rambus had conducted an extensive investigation of prior synchronous-technology inventions before filing its patent applications. Rambus concluded there were no prior inventions, which cleared the way for it to file its applications. Rambus last week called the Micron suit weak and said it contains misleading and inaccurate statements. The company similarly rebuffed a separate suit filed by Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd., which is seeking to invalidate the Rambus patents based on a claim of prior art and invention. Rambus told analysts it was prepared to bear the legal expenses of the various suits in which it is engaged. The first court hearings could come in German, French, and British courts, sources said. ebnonline.com

To: Don Green who wrote (53558)	9/16/2000 10:22:25 AM
From: Zeev Hed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Don, most IP license I have seen, always have a clause that the Agreement .."shall be binding upon and inure to the benefits of their respective successors and assigns, including any corporation with which, or into which, the parties may be merged or or which may succeed to their respective assets or business...". The fact that both parents have an agreement will serve as a strong base for the new entity to resign, otherwise, they'll have a company enable to ship anything. Zeev

To: Don Green who wrote (53558)	9/16/2000 10:51:52 AM
From: blake_paterson	Respond to of 93625

Compare and contrast the spin associated with the two articles you posted: 1. ""Both NEC and Hitachi wanted to avert any Rambus legal action that could impede the launch of the new joint venture," said Bob Merritt, an analyst at Semico Research Corp. based in Redwood City, Calif. "They're now assured they can start with a clean slate." The NEC spokesman refused to indicate whether the DRAM combine would be amenable to Rambus' terms, saying that it was an issue for NEC Hitachi Memory to address." ebnonline.com 2. "NEC's decision to license Rambus' broad DRAM interface portfolio, announced last week, may be a prelude to the decision of the still-unnamed NEC-Hitachi joint-venture DRAM company..... ...Even though the new DRAM company will be an independent operation on paper, it has no fabrication facilities of its own and will rely on NEC and Hitachi for manufacturing capabilities. Any action by Rambus that would try to stop the import of SDRAM or DDR SDRAM into the United States in the absence of an agreement could pose a threat to the parent companies' manufacturing operations." ebnonline.com Hmmm.... <SEG> Given that, unlike some others, I have do have assets tied to the growth this stock's price, I prefer the latter's perspective. BP