Jury finds in favor of defendants, finds evidence does not meet
anti-trust threshold
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS), one of the world's premier technology
licensing companies, today announced the jury in its anti-trust case
against Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS) and Micron Technology (NYSE:MU)
has found in favor of the defendants. The jury found that Rambus did not
meet its burden of proving its case against the two defendants. At issue
were Rambus allegations that the defendants illegally conspired to
constrain availability of Rambus' RDRAM® and keep its prices unnaturally
high relative to its competition, while holding competitive DDR pricing
low, in an effort to eliminate Rambus' RDRAM memory technology from the
marketplace. Upon succeeding in eliminating RDRAM as a competitor in the
main memory market, the defendants raised the prices of DDR by as much
as 500%.
"We are disappointed with this verdict as we believe strongly in our
case. We thank our legal team and everyone who has supported Rambus in
this case over the past seven years. We do not agree with several
rulings that affected how this case was presented to the jury and we are
reviewing our options for appeal," said Harold Hughes, president and
chief executive officer of Rambus. "Regardless of this outcome, we
remain steadfastly committed to innovation as Rambus engineers and
scientists continue to advance the frontiers of technology for the
benefit of our customers and consumers worldwide."
This case, CGC-04-431105, was originally filed on May 5, 2004 in the
Superior Court of the State of California. In the suit, Rambus charged
that the defendants engaged in a concerted and unlawful effort to
eliminate competition and stifle innovation in the market by
collectively rigging DRAM prices to drive Rambus' RDRAM memory
technology from the market.
Rambus asserted its claims under certain causes of action, including
conspiracy to restrict output and fix prices in violation of the
Cartwright Act and intentional interference with prospective economic
advantage. The claim of the defendants engaging in unfair competition in
violation of California Business and Professions Code Section 17200
remains to be decided by the judge. Rambus previously dismissed without
prejudice a claim of conspiracy to monopolize in violation of the
Cartwright Act.
Audio Conference Call and Webcast Scheduled
Rambus management will host a special conference call today at 2:00 p.m.
PT to discuss this verdict. The call will be webcast and can be accessed
through the Rambus website. A replay will be available following the
call on Rambus' Investor Relations website or for one week at the
following numbers: (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406
(international) with ID# 29014719.
About Rambus Inc.
Rambus is one of the world's premier technology licensing companies.
Founded in 1990, the Company specializes in the invention and design of
architectures focused on enriching the end-user experience of electronic
systems. Rambus' patented innovations and breakthrough technologies help
industry-leading companies bring superior products to market. Rambus
licenses both its world-class patent portfolio, as well as its family of
leadership and industry-standard solutions. Rambus has offices in
California, North Carolina, Ohio, India, Germany, Japan, Korea, and
Taiwan. Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.
RMBSLN
Rambus Public Relations
Linda Ashmore, 408-462-8411
lashmore@rambus.com
Source: Rambus Inc.
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