Slashdot Mirror
Rambus Wins Patent Case
Blowfishie writes "Rambus has won a major case they've been fighting since the late 90's. Rambus worked its technology into the standards for SDRAM and DDR data transfer, then waited for the major players (Hynix, Micron and Nanya) to be heavily committed before revealing that it had patents on the technology. 'At issue is whether the developer of a speedy new memory technology deserved to be paid for its inventions, or whether the company misled memory chip makers. "I think they (the jurors) misapprehended what the standards-setting organizations are about and the absolute need for good faith," said Jared Bobrow, an outside attorney for Micron. Wednesday's verdict comes after a judgment against Hynix in 2006 that resulted in a $133 million award to Rambus, Lavelle said, and potentially clears the way for Rambus to collect on that verdict.'"
The article's dated March 26th. No joke.
!omgponies would be the preferred syntax, I believe.
All your base are belong to Wii.
It's called a submarine patent. They call it that because it lurks there and lets you get all confident before it surfaces and torpedos your business.
Another company did this with .gif, and another with .jpg. In fact I doubt there are many accepted standards that lack these traps. The companies that participate in standards do their best to ensure their patented technologies are included in their standards.
The standards bodies have a term for this. They require not that the standards contain no patented content, but rather that licensing is available under terms that are "RAND": Reasonable and non discriminatory.
There can be no better example than the current hot topic, OOXML. MS has offered their "promise" that they won't sue people for using their specification for non commercial use under certain (unlikely) conditions. They won't even call it a license.
It's all a lie, of course. A corporation does not buy something so expensive as a submarine unless they have a plan to use it.
That's not the same thing as patent troll. A patent troll has no other business than patenting the obvious and suing people who follow the simplest path. While these patents are one clear answer to certain technical problems they are not the only obvious answer. Also, Rambus does have a legitimate business (or did).
Therefore it's not a patent troll, it's a submarine patent. I'll agree that it's despicable though.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
From Wikipedia:
So, yes, this is a massive litigation war.
(April Fools: How about adding a little twist to the current RickRolling tendency?
dgatwood, your joke is the *utmost* one I found today:
"I will never, as long as I live, purchase any product manufactured by Rambus or any of its subsidiaries" You won't because Rambus doesn't produce products that are sold on the market --- they do not produce.
"as soon as the dust settles and the industry has time to move to a Rambus-patent-free memory technology" The industry has been moving towards a Rambus-patent-heavier status, since SDRAM, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. I hope given more time they will move even faster.
"that permanent blacklisting will be expanded to any products that license any technology from Rambus or any of its subsidiaries." You better giving up owning any product that uses DRAM legally and buying those product that infringing, given the outcome of the recent lawsuit --- really a nerd.
"I strongly urge everyone else on Slashdot to do the same." Doing what? sitting here LMAO about your posts?
If I were working for one of those companies, the first thing I'd do is declare bankruptcy.
You can't declare bankruptcy unless you're actually bankrupt.
As for me, I will never, as long as I live, purchase any product manufactured by Rambus or any of its subsidiaries,
You won't, since Rambus is just a patent troll company; they don't make products.
All it would take would be the wrath of geeks burying a single company to ensure that other companies think twice before adopting such sleazy, deplorable tactics.
Well, if you figure out how to destroy Rambus as a business, lots of people would like to know. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done.
Rambus wrote an early (and decent) patent on one of their designs, and that patent languished for years in the patent office, eventually being abandoned. Several years later, they wrote a continuation of that patent that was eventually granted, which covered their design.
Now the issue begins.
During the time that those two patents were hidden away in the patent office, Rambus attended the JEDEC committee meetings for standardizing SDRAM and DDR. They essentially sat there, silent, making the actively participating representatives nervous. Eventually there was a "put up or talk up" request issued to the Rambus people, and they walked out of the committee meetings.
Also during that time, they began writing continuations of the second in-office application, which was a continuation of the first application. With these continuations the examined the descriptive section of the first application (which isn't allowed to change on a continuation) and began extracting new claims which were precisely written against the emerging SDRAM and DDR standards.
Even though those features may have only been mentioned in passing, not taught in the original art.
Even though to one skilled in the art they were rather obvious.
The applications were granted, and that's the basis of the current mess.