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Rambus Comes Out of Dark, Sues Nvidia for Patent Infringement
Posted by Kit Eaton at 6:23 PM on July 11, 2008
It's been a while since we've heard anything about memory maker Rambus, but the company has come back into the light to sue Nvidia for patent infringement. Rambus thinks that Nvidia's use of SDR, DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR, and GDDR3 SDRAM in their products violates 17 (count 'em... 17!) patents that Rambus owns. Those chips sit inside all sorts of Nvidia gear, and apparently Rambus has been trying for a settlement for years. Now it's using the legal system to claim cash for the damages. Bad news for Nvidia, but Rambus is still apparently trying "to continue discussions with Nvidia to reach a negotiated settlement." I bet. [BusinessWire]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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Gilbert
Posted 7:14 PM 11/7/08
Having Rambus RAM in your computer used to be a sign of wealth and honor.
And maybe even penis envy.
Gilbert
majortom1029
Posted 8:56 PM 11/7/08
Why is it only nvidia this effects ? Doesn't ati do this also?
majortom1029
grald
Posted 10:07 PM 11/7/08
Maybe ATI already made a deal with Rambus? I doubt it though.@majortom1029: Maybe ATI already made a deal with Rambus? I doubt it though.
grald
koolatron
Posted 10:39 PM 11/7/08
Contrary to popular wisdom, Rambus has not been laying low since the bad old days of Intel and RDRAM. Rambus has XDR chips in every single PS3 on the market, having worked out deals with plenty of DRAM developers to license their proprietary interface. As for this nvidia debacle, I am going to have to call shenanigans. DDR, DDR2, GDDR3 et al are JEDEC standardized interfaces. This is like the catholic church suing bible publishers for talking about God.
It should be no secret to anyone that the Rambus business strategy of late seems to revolve around developing badass DRAM interfaces (XDR is good, and blazingly fast) and then making money from litigation with their former licensees.
koolatron
Nemesisesq
Posted 12:20 AM 12/7/08
Ok No one thought Bang Bus when they saw Ram Bus? No one?
Nemesisesq
oo0cyst0oo
Posted 12:51 AM 12/7/08
Man, Rambus you sound like little bitches. Wah! Did they invent RAM? I use to have a server with all kinds of Rambus up in that bad boy. Also, I think the G4 tower used Rambus? Way to go out...
@Gilbert: I remember that well.
oo0cyst0oo
Deamion
Posted 1:15 AM 12/7/08
I'm not surprised Rambus is doing this. RDRAM was a great product in the late PIII and early PIV days. But the product died fast due to THE PRICE! Maybe is Rambus wasn't so greedy they could have taken over the ram market, and be very rich by now. But instead they will have to sue to try and make money.
Question, didn't SDRAM and DDR Ram already exist in the market when Rambus started selling RDRAM?
--Deamion
Deamion
LittleJon
Posted 2:09 AM 12/7/08
Rambus is a parasite!
My old Ph.D supervisor was an expert witness in the Rambus-Hynix case. Some of the dirty tricks Rambus got up to in memory standards meetings may not have been illegal, but they were shameful.
Each member of the committee was suppose to declare if ideas they brought up for the next standard were patented. Rambus would propose ideas without disclosing that they'd patent the idea already. Their hope was to get Rambus IP put in to every memory product so that they could then sue!
They also would take their notebooks from each day's meeting (which included note on everyone's ideas) and fax them to their lawyers who would then file a provisional patent.
None these things were illegal (and they won the case against Hynix), but it did go against the rules and spirit of the inter-company standards committee. If you don't care about that, then you should realize that from the consumer's perspective it could lead to a Rambus tax on the memory that you buy and the products that contain memory.
LittleJon
ryanisjimdandy
Posted 4:26 AM 12/7/08
1. Get Rambus technology into a more successful company's products.
2. Don't tell them it's patented.
3. Wait.
4. ????
5. Profit.
ryanisjimdandy
Hello_Newman
Posted 12:12 PM 12/7/08
Yeah good luck suing if they did any of the things mentioned during those meetings and it can be documented. I just don't see how a patent can be enforced under those conditions.
Hello_Newman