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Micron foe scores ideal verdict
Rambus avoids antitrust charges fostered by FTC

Julie Howard
The Idaho Statesman

Micron Technology foe Rambus Inc. won a key decision Tuesday when antitrust charges were struck down by a federal judge.
The Federal Trade Commission had filed antitrust charges against the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Rambus, saying the computer-memory-designer company used fraudulent practices when it patented technology commonly used in the industry.

Chief Administrative Law Judge Stephen McGuire dismissed the FTC´s complaint, saying the agency had not proved its case.

Micron, the Treasure Valley´s largest private-industry employer, has made similar accusations against Rambus, and the two firms are set to face off in a Delaware court later this year. That case is on hold until a similar case in Virginia — between Rambus and Germany´s Infineon Technologies — is settled. The Virginia case is expected to conclude this spring.

The FTC case is likely to be appealed, said Micron spokesman Dave Parker.

“We believe the administrative law judge failed to understand key points of fact and law presented by FTC counsel at trial,” said Parker. “We anticipate the commission will complete a full review of all the facts and testimony put into evidence by FTC counsel at trial.”

The FTC case is separate from the one between Micron and Rambus, although the same technology is at the root of both complaints. The FTC had alleged that Rambus secretly applied to amend its patents to cover technologies that an industry standards-setting body was considering for a new generation of memory chips.

At stake are millions of dollars in royalty fees that Rambus could charge memory chip manufacturers, including Micron.

Disputes over who owns technology patented by Rambus have been fought in courts around the world.

Just last week, the European Patent Office revoked one of Rambus´ patents in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium. That decision gave Micron executives hope that the FTC would come to a similar decision in the United States.

Rambus last week indicated it might launch an antitrust lawsuit of its own against computer memory makers later this spring. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rambus said it was evaluating its options about charging other computer memory makers with conspiring against Rambus´ memory product.

From: http://www.idahostatesman.com/Story.asp?ID=61321