ITC Issues Notice of Final Determination in Rambus Matter Regarding NVIDIA Products

[DannibusX]

Hmm, bad move on nVidia's part. I generally hate lawsuits, but if they were using technology that wasn't licensed properly then they should be forced to pay.

Now, with all the manufacturers listed, is it just a blanket suit because they make cards for nVidia, do they have to license the technology individually or does nVidia have to do that for them? Another thought, is this a partial reason why XFX stopped manufacturing for nVidia?

 

[newtekie1]

RAMBUS - "We can't come up with anything new, so we're going to sue anyone that uses RAM in any form."

Honestly, that is what Rambus has done. I never see a single shred of news about any new product from them, yet I swear I've seen at least 3 different lawsuits over ancient patents that everyone in the computer industry has been using freely for years. I despise companies that allow their patents to be used by other companies long enough for the other company to become big, then sues them to try and extort money. If they had a problem with nVidia using their patents, why not sue them when nVidia first started using them? Why wait until nVidia is one of the biggest names in the computer industry?

I mean look at their lawsuit history since 2000:

Samsung
Infineon - Rambus was found quilty of fraud related to this case, IIRC.
Micron - Rambus was found quilty of fraud related to this case, IIRC.
Hynix - Rambus was found quilty of fraud related to this case, IIRC.
Hynix(Again)
Nanya
Inotera
Infineon(Again) - Rambus was found to have shredded documents relating to the case prior to the hearing. Fraud again - Case dismissed - again...
nvidia

And in this time, they've been investigated at least twice for anti-trust issues, and found quilty at least once. And in fact, the EU is actively investigating them for "patent ambush" which is knowingly allowing a technology to become an industry standard without disclosing you own the patents, then suing as many people in the industry as possible.

Now lets look at the amazing products they've come up with since 2000:

XDRAM - Nobody wants it.
*Crickets Chirp*

 

[Kreij]

Many companies have patent liicense agreements with Rambus.
Nvidia just didn't want to have to pay for using the technology. Obviously the courts agreed and ruled in favor of Rambus.

AMD renewed their patent license agreement with Rambus in March of this year.

 

[erocker]

RAMBUS - "We can't come up with anything new, so we're going to sue anyone that uses RAM in any form."

That's just silly. Just because Rambus doesn't sell much that you find on retail shelves, doesn't mean they aren't entitled to reimbursement on patented products they own. We don't live in a free for all society. You reap what you sow.

 

[newtekie1]

That's just silly. Just because Rambus doesn't sell much that you find on retail shelves, doesn't mean they aren't entitled to reimbursement on patented products they own. We don't live in a free for all society. You reap what you sow.

Actually, as it seems, they might not be entitled to re-imbursement on patentd product they own due to their patent ambush practices, at least that is what the EU is investigating.

I would agree with you, had they spoke up right away before DDR/DDR2/DDR3 became industry standards. But they just sat back, let them become industry standards, knowing full well once the industry had no choice but to continue to use them, they would sue to get royalties. Some companies just lay down and take that as acceptable, some don't.

 

[erocker]

Actually, as it seems, they might not be entitled to re-imbursement on patentd product they own due to their patent ambush practices, at least that is what the EU is investigating.

I would agree with you, had they spoke up right away before DDR/DDR2/DDR3 became industry standards. But they just sat back, let them become industry standards, knowing full well once the industry had no choice but to continue to use them, they would sue to get royalties.

I don't know.. when you own a lot of patents, you have a lot to protect. I don't see how the number of patents they have makes any difference. Between one or one thousand, as a business you need to protect your intellectual property. Afterall, it's not like Rambus just gives themselves these patents. If you google "amd, intel, nvidia, etc patents/licesnses" (it made me LOL) you'll see that all of these companies are constantly suing one another and it's definitley not limited to Rambus.

 

[newtekie1]

When did anyone say it matters how many patents they have?

What matters is how long they waited to start trying to enforce those patents. They purposely waited until the products that infringed on their patents became industry standards instead of speaking up when the technologies were first being introduced.

And yes, they are all suing eachother, but the difference is that everyone else is actually putting out product and they don't have a mile long list of different companies they've sued, and Rambus seems to solely live off lawsuits with little actual contribution to the computer industry.

 

[btarunr]

XDRAM - Nobody wants it.
*Crickets Chirp*

Every Playstation 3 ever made uses XDR.

Edit: yes, nobody wants it indeed.

 

[erocker]

And yes, they are all suing eachother, but the difference is that everyone else is actually putting out product and they don't have a mile long list of different companies they've sued, and Rambus seems to solely live off lawsuits with little actual contribution to the computer industry.

That's where I disagree with you. These patents they own are a contribution to the computer industry, but I'll agree to disagree. Also the complaint was filed two years ago.