Patent claims by Rambus against Nvidia rejected

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has rejected all the 17 claims in 3 patents that Rambus Incorporated had asserted against Nvidia Corporation in a complaint filed with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC).

The action by Nvidia Corporation, based in Santa Clara, California, the United States – called ‘filing an action-closing prosecution’ – followed preliminary rejection of Nvidia’s claims earlier in 2009 by the US International Trade Commission.

Rambus Incorporated, headquartered in Los Altos, California, the United States, said in a statement that the patents still remain “valid and enforceable as originally issued” till the re-examination proceedings, including all the appeals, are concluded.

One study, Rambus said, suggests that it would take over 6 years for claims on re-examination “to work their way through” the US Patent and Trademark Office. Once the verdict from the Patent and Trademark Office is delivered, appeal can be filed in the Federal Circuit and even in the United States Supreme Court, according to Rambus.

Meanwhile, David Shannon, executive vice-president and general counsel of Nvidia Corporation, claimed in a press release that the rejection of appeals by Rambus by the Patent and Trademark Office “is a continuation of Nvidia’s string of victories against Rambus patents.”

Nvidia, David Shannon added, not only believes that these patents are invalid but also that a “similar verdict” will be delivered on the other patents that the Patent and Trademark Office continue to examine.

In the case, there still remain 8 claims regarding 2 other patents. Though the Patent and Trademark Office had preliminarily rejected these 8 claims, it is yet to take a final decision on them.