Gary Harmon, chief financial officer bij Rambus, heeft verteld dat bedrijven die hun voor de rechter slepen de kans lopen om geen licentierechten te krijgen voor het bakker van SDRAM modules of chips die gebruik maken van SDRAM technologie. En als dat niet gebeurt lopen ze in ieder geval nog het risico om meer royalities te moeten betalen dan de bedrijven die braaf zijn in de ogen van Rambus. De bedrijven die Rambus momenteel aanklagen zijn Infineon, Hyundai en Micron Technology:
Rambus Inc. is threatening to impose higher royalty payments or even refuse licensing rights to three semiconductor manufacturers, which have engaged in a series of court battles with the IP developer rather than agreeing to patent license terms.
"The companies that litigate against us may pay higher royalty fees, and if they lose [in court] they may not get [a ] Rambus patent," said Gary Harmon, Rambus' chief financial officer at the third annual Needham & Co. Inc. Growth Conference in New York.
[...] "Right now we collect 1% or 2% in royalty payments per product shipped," Harmon said. "The difference is [these are] the guys who helped us in our early days. Those fighting us may theoretically pay as much as 10%."[break]Harde taal dus van Rambus, maar in elk donker is een lichtpuntje:[/break]Even then, Rambus stands to lose a huge amount of money if it fails to win the lawsuits, acknowledged Harmon. The company has signed licensing agreements with all other major DRAM suppliers, but the contracts may be nullified if its patents are not upheld in court.
Species 8472, bedankt voor de tip!