LOS ALTOS, Calif., May 26, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS) today announced that the U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of California has ordered Hynix Semiconductor
(000660.KS) to secure the judgment amount of approximately $397 million
through a combination of a bond and a lien on a Hynix property in South
Korea for infringing Rambus patents. The bonded amount of $250M is
required to be posted within 45 days of the order. The lien will only
serve as security if a new appraisal of the Hynix property shows a fair
market value of at least double the amount of the judgment not secured
by the bond. If the appraisal is inadequate, Rambus may ask the Court to
substitute other security.
Final judgment in this matter was entered against Hynix on March 10,
2009 in the amount of approximately $134M for infringement through
December 31, 2005 and approximately $215M for its infringement from
January 1, 2006 through January 31, 2009. In addition, the Court awarded
about $48M in pre-judgment interest to Rambus.
"We fully expect the judgment against Hynix to be upheld on appeal, and
that we will be entitled to collect the entire amount of the judgment,"
said Thomas Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel at
Rambus. "We appreciate the Court's thoughtful consideration in this
case, however, we believe Hynix should have been required to post a bond
for the entire amount of the judgment. If Hynix's proposed lien fails to
show value of roughly $300 million, we will ask the Court for other
security in order to protect Rambus' interests."
In addition, the Court ordered Hynix to pay compulsory license fees into
escrow pending the outcome of the appeal Hynix filed in this matter. The
Court ordered Hynix to pay Rambus royalties on net sales after January
31, 2009 and before April 18, 2010 of 1% for SDR SDRAM and 4.25% for DDR
SDRAM memory devices. The latter rate applies to DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR,
gDDR2 and GDDR3 SDRAM devices, as well as DDR SGRAM devices. Damages and
the compulsory license apply to U.S. infringements of the patent claims
in suit.
Background of the Case
This case was originally filed by Hynix against Rambus in August 2000.
The Honorable Ronald M. Whyte of the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California split the case into three separate
phases with Rambus subsequently prevailing in all three phases. During
the first phase, Hynix alleged that Rambus' patents were invalid based
on the doctrine of unclean hands. The Court issued its Findings of Fact
and Conclusions of Law in Rambus' favor in January 2006. The Court
reaffirmed its finding of no spoliation when it denied Hynix's motion
for reconsideration in February 2009.
The second phase dealt with Rambus' allegations that Hynix memory
products infringed its patents. In April 2006, a jury unanimously found
that all ten Rambus patent claims at issue in that trial are valid and
infringed by Hynix memory products. The jury award of approximately
$307M in damages for U.S. sales of infringing Hynix products through
December 31, 2005, was subsequently reduced by the Court to
approximately $134M.
In the third and final phase of the case, Hynix (together with Micron
and Nanya) tried its remaining claims and defenses against Rambus
including antitrust and fraud claims based on Rambus' participation in a
standard-setting organization called JEDEC. In March 2008, a jury found
Rambus had acted properly during its participation in JEDEC in the early
1990s. The Court similarly found in Rambus' favor in a decision issued
on March 3, 2009.
About Rambus Inc.
Rambus is one of the world's premier technology licensing companies
specializing in the invention and design of high-speed memory
architectures. Since its founding in 1990, the Company's patented
innovations, breakthrough technologies and renowned integration
expertise have helped industry-leading chip and system companies bring
superior products to market. Rambus' technology and products solve
customers' most complex chip and system-level interface challenges
enabling unprecedented performance in computing, communications and
consumer electronics applications. Rambus licenses both its world-class
patent portfolio as well as its family of leadership and
industry-standard interface products. Headquartered in Los Altos,
California, Rambus has regional offices in North Carolina, India,
Germany, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding
our intention to continue our innovations, filing of patents and efforts
to be fairly compensated for our patented inventions.Such
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates
and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain
assumptions made by our management. Actual results may differ materially.Our business generally is subject to a number of risks which are
described more fully in our SEC filings including our 10-K and 10-Qs.
RMBSLN
SOURCE: Rambus Inc.
Rambus Public Relations
Linda Ashmore, 650-947-5411
lashmore@rambus.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009