Appeals court throws out Rambus patent ruling

13.05.2011
A U.S. appeals court has ruled on two patent lawsuits that pit Rambus against two competing DRAM makers, sending both cases back to district courts for reconsideration.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a lower court ruling requiring Hynix Semiconductor to pay Rambus damages and fees totaling US$397 million for the use of its patents in DRAM chips. That ruling, from the District Court for the Northern District of California, came in March 2009, nearly nine years after Hynix first filed an antitrust and fraud lawsuit against Rambus.

In the second case, the appeals court upheld a District Court ruling from Delaware that Rambus had brought by Micron Technology in 2000.

However, the appeals court vacated another ruling, also from Delaware, that 12 DRAM-related patents claimed by Rambus were unenforceable against Micron.

"We are very disappointed with the decisions in these cases," Thomas Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel at Rambus, said in a statement. "We are hopeful when the district courts reconsider these decisions, they will find, as we believe, there was no bad faith and no prejudice."

Rambus officials said they weren't sure whether they would appeal the cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. Rambus is "unwavering" in its decision to pursue patent claims against the companies, Harold Hughes, Rambus' president and CEO, said during a conference call.