Rambus antitrust trial kicks off against rivals

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Microchip heavyweights Micron and Hynix used their combined power to torpedo Rambus' superior memory technology and keep it from becoming an industry standard, a Rambus lawyer said in court.

Opening statements began in a California state court on Monday in a long running antitrust lawsuit launched by Rambus against rivals Micron and Hynix.

Rambus accuses Micron and Hynix of boycotting its RDRAM memory technology starting in the 1990s, according to its lawsuit. Micron and Hynix improperly colluded to restrict production and raise the price of Rambus chips in favor of their own technology and to the detriment of consumers, the lawsuit alleges.

The company claims up to $4.38 billion in lost profits. Micron and Hynix deny any anticompetitive conduct.

In court, Rambus attorney Bart Williams said Micron and Hynix conspired to prevent Rambus' technology, a kind of DRAM memory used in PCs, from becoming widely adopted even though it was favored by chip giant Intel and PC manufacturers like Dell.

"The defendants did not want to share the DRAM market with Rambus ... so the defendants cheated." Williams said. "The defendants shot down RDRAM from behind."

He showed jurors a copy of an email from Dell founder Michael Dell asking Micron Chief Executive Officer Steve Appleton to sell Dell more memory chips using Rambus' RDRAM technology.

Instead of delivering more of those chips, Micron and Hynix agreed to cut prices for chips using their own technology and restrict production of RDRAM, Williams said.

Opening statements from Micron and Hynix attorneys are expected to be delivered on Tuesday.

"This litigation is part of Rambus' continued attempts to place blame on third parties for its failure to compete successfully," Rod Lewis, Micron's Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, said in an email.

Much of Rambus' income has come from patent licensing, and it has initiated litigation against a range of tech companies. Winning patent cases makes it easier for Rambus to negotiate additional licensing arrangements.

Shares of Rambus, which often swing sharply on developments in the company's legal battles, closed 3.66 percent higher at $14.46 on Nasdaq.

The case in Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco is Rambus Inc. v. Micron Technology Inc. et al, 04-431105.