http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer...agrees-pay-licensing-fee-rambus#ixzz1Ob8RfSfq
Freescale agrees to pay a licensing fee to Rambus
Litigation ended as part of patent agreement
By Dean Wilson
Tue Jun 07 2011, 13:54
PATENT HOARDER Rambus has signed a patent licensing agreement with Freescale Semiconductor that covers Rambus memory controller and serial link patents.
The agreement brings to an end a lawsuit filed by Rambus against Freescale in December of last year for patent infringement. Freescale decided to settle with Rambus and pay a licensing fee instead of dragging the case through the courts, which might have ultimately proven more costly, particularly given Rambus' overall record of success at winning patent court cases.
Freescale uses the patented memory controllers and serial links at issue here in many of its integrated circuit logic products, which would have faced a possible import ban if the Rambus lawsuit was successful.
The agreement also covers Freescale's past use of the technology, ensuring that the company will not have to pay any fines for allegedly infringing Rambus patents. It's not clear if Rambus simply let the past infringement slide in order to reach the agreement or if the agreement involves a back payment of licensing fees for the period where Freescale was supposedly using unlicensed Rambus technology. Rambus is not talking about the terms of the agreement.
Rambus has gained a negative reputation in the past for its hoarding of patents and its many lawsuits against technology companies it accused of infringing them. When it brought its case against Freescale it also took on Broadcom, LSI, Mediatek and the GPU giant Nvidia, despite Nvidia having previously agreed to pay a licensing fee for other Rambus patents. Now that Freescale has buckled under the pressure, it's more likely that we'll see others signing deals with Rambus soon.
Financial terms of the agreement between Rambus and Freescale have not been revealed, but we can expect that Freescale paid a pretty penny for the ability to use Rambus patented technology in its products.
The agreement will last for five years, after which time the parties will negotiate a new deal.