Rambus Inc, a designer of high-speed memory chips, won a ruling from a US Federal Trade Commission judge that may help it reap as much as US$3 billion a year from semiconductor makers.
An administrative law judge rejected government allegations that Rambus violated antitrust laws by attending meetings to set industry standards for memory chips as it pursued patents for those chips. The judge said the FTC "failed to sustain its burden" of proving Rambus committed fraud and dismissed the case.
Judge Stephen McGuire's decision, which will be reviewed by FTC commissioners in Washington, bolsters Rambus's efforts to collect patent royalties from semiconductor makers, including Infineon Technologies AG. McGuire issued a one-sentence order and will release his opinion to the public on Monday.
"This is a shot in the arm for Rambus," said Steve Allen, an analyst at Sierra Tech Research. "This means that, no matter which way the memory market goes, Rambus will end up on top."
About 90 percent of the 4 billion chips sold each year comply with the industry standards, with a value of between US$13 billion and US$25 billion, the FTC has said. Rambus, if allowed to pursue efforts to collect patent royalties from the chipmaking industry, might receive as much as US$3 billion a year, the FTC said.
Rambus shares rose US$0.31, or 1.2 percent, to close at US$25.84 in NASDAQ Stock Market composite trading. After hours, the shares rose as high as US$29 before trading was halted minutes before the judge's order was released. The shares have more than doubled since January last year.
David Parker, a spokesman for Micron Technology Inc, which is fighting Rambus over its patents, said in a statement that McGuire "failed to understand key points of fact and law" in the case. He said Micron is "hopeful" the full five-member Federal Trade Commission will overturn the judge.
Rambus, which licenses its technology to chipmakers such as Intel and Samsung Electronics Co, sued Infineon, Micron and Hynix Semiconductor Inc after they refused to sign licensing agreements.
Rambus doesn't make or sell its own chips. Instead, it collects patent royalties from semiconductor makers such as Intel that use its designs. The company specializes in chips designed to speed up computer programs for databases, games and digital photography.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS