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Rambus, Infinion in legal tussle over chip dispute

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CIOL Bureau
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If it convinces a jury that Siemens-owned Infineon Technologies infringed on four of its patented performance enhancing memory-chip technologies, Rambus stands to gain as much as $1 billion in royalties and damages.



This week, in opening arguments, Rambus lawyer David Monahan told the 12 jurors that Infineon knew about the patents but used the Rambus inventions in its own products. "They wanted to be a player in the world market. There was a decision made that they were going to copy Rambus and they haven't stopped to this day."



In their initial defense, lawyers for Infineon accused Rambus of "manipulation and trickery" to get its design accepted as an industry standard. "The patents don't even cover our products," said John Desmarais, lawyer for Munich-based Infineon.



The trial is closely watched by just about every chip company in the industry. If Rambus wins, it could force major chipmakers, who have so far refused to pay Rambus any royalties, to quickly settle their disputes. After all, Rambus has threatened that it will never allow any company that will fight its patent claims in court, a license to produce and sell chips using Rambus technology.



The Infinion case could bring Rambus as much as $1 billion royalty income and damages. Hundreds more million in annual sales could result if other firms settle their case in the aftermath of a Rambus court victory.

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