Rambus grants Infineon "most favored customer" status

As reported byTom Krazit, IDG news service at techworld.com:

From 15 November, Infineon will pay Rambus US$5.85 million each quarter for a licence to existing and future Rambus patents. The payments will continue until 15 November, 2007 unless Rambus is able to sign licensing deals with the other SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM) vendors. If that occurs, Infineon will continue to pay $5.85 million a quarter up to a maximum of $100 million in payments after November 2007, capping the total amount of payments to Rambus at $150 million.

However, Infineon has been granted "most-favored customer" status as a result of this settlement, said Bob Kramer, director of litigation at Rambus. That term can be interpreted a number of different ways, but it generally means those customers are receiving special consideration for their relationship, he said.

Given that Infineon is the first SDRAM vendor in the recent disputes to put an end to litigation with Rambus, it's safe to assume the company's rate is better than what other SDRAM vendors will be charged during any future settlements, Kramer said. "People who settle first or take a license first get better rates," he said.

Read the techworld.com article here.

Hat tip to Joe of the Pinehurst Thread for the link.