Rambus litigation update

Rambus issued a press release updating the status of some of its litigation.

"Overall, we are pleased with the events of last week and with the progress that we think they represent. We intend to continue to work though the complexities of these cases as expeditiously as we can - with the same goal as always, to be fairly compensated for our innovations and to seek appropriate redress for illegal conduct that has harmed us in the past." John Danforth, senior vice president and general counsel at Rambus.

Antitrust - San Francisco, CA

1) Rambus won a demurrer jointly filed by defendants seeking dismissal of the case.
2) Court ordered defendants to give Rambus all documents all documents they had previously given to the Department of Justice within 30 days from the entry of the protective order.
3) Set a conference for May 20, 2005, to consider, among other things, the order and timing of further discovery in that case and the indication of defendant Hynix that it will seek to compel arbitration in South Korea of the claims against it pursuant, it says, to the terms of the 1996 Rambus-Hynix RDRAM license.

Hynix v. Rambus, San Jose, CA

1) Court tentatively denied Hynix’s motion to dismiss and after oral arguments, took that matter under submission. Final ruling on motion is pending.
2) Directed the parties to work out procedures for production of responsive documents found on those tapes.
3) Directed the parties to advise the court on Wednesday, April 27, 2005, of any issues that the parties could not resolve.
4) Set a May 20, 2005 status conference to discuss, among other things, the setting of new pretrial and trial dates.

Micron v. Rambus, District of Delaware

1) Court denied Micron’s motion to schedule an early hearing on its spoliation allegations against Rambus and seeking to stay the rest of the case.
2) As requested by Rambus, Court suspended the current trial and pre-trial schedule and directed that all discovery should continue.
3) The court also indicated that it would defer until the next status conference its consideration of a Rambus motion seeking leave to bring new patent cases against Micron, including its request to add Micron to the DDR2 case currently pending in California against multiple DRAM companies.

Other notes:

The Justice Department also recently confirmed that Micron had reached an "amnesty" deal with the Department by cooperating in its investigation of the conspiracy.

"We take very seriously the complexities and difficulties of these cases, and we continue to direct significant resources to the issues surrounding our newly discovered potential evidence." John Danforth