Hynix Semiconductor Inc must pay Rambus Inc royalties on its US memory chip sales and US$397 million in damages and interest for infringing Rambus patents, a federal judge said in a ruling that allows Hynix to appeal the decision.
In a final judgment issued on Tuesday, US District Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose, California, approved the companies’ agreement on Hynix’s royalty rates. Rambus announced terms of the agreement — which was made under court-ordered negotiations and is not a settlement — late on Monday. Hynix said it would appeal within 30 days.
A successful appeal by Ichon, South Korea-based Hynix, the world’s second-largest maker of computer-memory chips, could spare the company from having to pay anything. Whyte ruled Hynix must pay the royalties to Rambus on a quarterly basis and said Hynix must present arguments seeking to “accrue or deposit in escrow” the payments pending an appeal in a separate court filing after Tuesday’s order.
“The Rambus case will remain a potential risk for Hynix,” said Kim Gee-soo, an analyst at Good Morning Shinhan Securities Co in Seoul. “A final decision on the appeal may take one to two years and Hynix may have to set aside more provisions.”
The South Korean chipmaker said it would seek a stay of the damages judgment and did not expect the ruling to have an impact on its business while the case is ongoing.
Under the agreement, Hynix will pay a 4.25 percent royalty on chip sales between Jan. 31 this year and April 18 next year for newer types of DRAM, including the double-data rate second and third generations of the chips. The royalty will be 1 percent for earlier versions.
“Judge Whyte ordered Hynix to pay the ongoing royalty subject to post-judgment motions altering that ruling,” Ken Nissly, a lawyer for Hynix, said in a telephone interview. “There will be further proceedings regarding staying the judgment pending appeal.”
Whyte previously determined Hynix’s chip sales from Dec. 31, 2005, to Jan. 31 would be subject to royalties of 1 percent for synchronous DRAM chips and 4.25 percent for double-data rate ones. The companies are scheduled to appear before Whyte on March 17 to present arguments about when and how royalty payments must be made.
Rambus, based in Los Altos, California, designs and licenses chips used in electronics such as Sony Corp’s PlayStation console.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision,” Thomas Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel at Rambus, said in a statement. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to seek fair compensation for the use of our patented innovations.”
Hynix is the first of four chip makers to conclude a patent suit over memory with Rambus in Whyte’s court. Those remaining in federal court in San Jose are South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, the largest memory-chip manufacturer; Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc; and Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技).
RSS