Rambus awarded US$133.6m in patent trial

A jury at the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San José has awarded the company US$133.6 million in damages.

Micron, Hynix and Nanya had argued that Rambus violated antitrust laws by monopolising, or attempting to monopolise, six technology markets through patents covering features in Jedec industry standards for DRam interface technology.

The jury determined that Rambus had acted properly during its membership of the standards-setting Jedec organisation in the early 1990s.

The jury also found that Micron, Hynix and Nanya did not meet their burden of proving antitrust and fraud claims.

"This ruling should put to rest a series of allegations we have endured for many years," said Tom Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel at Rambus.

"Our business is to license our revolutionary technology to the industry for fair compensation. We are pleased to have this decision behind us as we continue to engage with the industry to deliver compelling products to the market."

Micron plans to appeal against the decision, alleging that that the evidence entered at the trial "proves" that Rambus violated antitrust laws and committed fraud.

The company stated that the jury's decision is inconsistent with previous decisions by the US Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission.

Micron also claimed that the disputed Rambus patents are invalid, not infringed, and are therefore unenforceable.

"Micron believes that Rambus has engaged in a pattern of deception, destruction of evidence, false testimony and other improper activities designed to mislead and to extract unjust patent licensing fees and damages," said Rod Lewis, vice president of legal affairs and general counsel at Micron.

"We will continue to vigorously advance our claims that Rambus has engaged in a variety of illegal activities designed to injure Micron."

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