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BIG NEWS - DRAM industry considers lodging FTC antitrust complaint against Rambus

C

Czar

Lifer
http://www.semibiznews.com/story/OEG20000710S0083



<< The move would be a pre-emptive strike to have Rambus' synchronous-DRAM interface patents declared unenforceable. The biggest memory makers also want to block further attempts by Rambus to force them to pay royalties on their mainstream SDRAMs, double-data-rate SDRAMs, and logic controllers with synchronous interfaces.

The company so far has charged at least one OEM with infringing its synchronous-memory technology, adding Sega Enterprises Ltd. to a suit it had filed against Hitachi. The game-console maker was implicated because the Hitachi SH microprocessors found in some of its game consoles were alleged to use Rambus' synchronous technology.

With their OEM customers at risk, ?the [semiconductor] industry has no choice but to bring litigation against Rambus,? said Bob Merritt, an analyst at Semico Research Corp. based Redwood City, Calif.

?However, far more is at stake,? Merritt said. ?When Rambus filed patent-infringement charges against Sega, an OEM chip customer, it opened Pandora's box. Suddenly every OEM customer of SDRAMs, DDR, chipsets, or microprocessors interfacing to synchronous memory is vulnerable to being sued by Rambus. Neither memory producers nor their customers can tolerate this unsettled situation, and it has to be resolved.? >>



Its about time they did something about bloody Rambus, long live the free market.

 
All we need is intel now to turn their backs on rambus, then they would quickly dissappear and we'd get great performing systems for less.
 
Rambus's problem is that they are so cocky and so F'in STUPID! I hope they bury Rambus. It's gotten so out of hand that I wouldn't shed a small tear to see Rambus disolve from the face of the earth.
 
It's about time that all the &quot;little&quot; guys finally decided to combine forces and beat up on the bully.

I'm tired of the smug attitudes and total lack of consideration for customers shown by companies like Rambus, Intel and of course everyone's favorite Microsoft.

I hope Rambus gets it's clock cleaned.
 
All we need is intel now to turn their backs on rambus, then they would quickly dissappear and we'd get great performing systems for less.

I thought they already were, Intel has a DDR solution for Willamette, who would have thought is would come down to this.

This ought to teach the lazy lawyers at Toshiba and Hitachi a lesson!

LOL...I know what was up with that?
 
The interesting part of this lawsuit is that a lot of the arguments that the DRAM companies are using are the same ones that Hitachi and Toshiba used in their defense.

The charges being drafted for the FTC complaint do in fact parallel Hitachi's defense, according to sources involved in the effort. As reported earlier this year, Hitachi argued before the U.S. International Trade Commission that Rambus had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. The company alleged that Rambus tried to monopolize the memory market by forcing chip manufacturers to use its proprietary Direct RDRAM design and then by interfering with the adoption of competitive SDRAM technology by asserting rights to synchronous-interface patents.

Hitachi also claimed that synchronous DRAMs and logic interfaces are open industry standards developed by JEDEC. The company said Rambus was a participant in JEDEC deliberations during which the standards were drafted, but pulled out of the body in 1995 and filed amended synchronous-patent applications soon after.

Hitachi said Rambus violated JEDEC rules and tried to restrain trade by refusing to reveal its patent intentions during open panel discussions.


DOH! forgot to include the link.... from http://www.semibiznews.com/story/OEG20000710S0083

 
What I find rather interesting is that none of the Top 5 memory manufacturers joined with Hitachi in it's original suit against Rambus. In fact, they all refused Hitachi's invitation.

Either there is bad blood between the other 5 DRAM manufacturers and Hitachi or they didn't want to spend their money yet. It looks like they were waiting to see how Hitachi's lawsuit turned out according to one of the big 5's v.p. - they were hoping that the Rambus' patents would be declared invalid. Instead, Hitachi with no support, rolled over.
 
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