[Ecommerce] EC accuses Rambus of 'patent ambush'

[Michelle Childs]

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/23/
rambus_ec_objections_patents_dram/
Chip maker slapped with Statement of Objections
By Kelly Fiveash
Published Thursday 23rd August 2007 16:11 GMT

The European Commission has confirmed formal "patent ambush" charges
against US memory chip designer Rambus.

In a Statement of Objections issued to Rambus on 30 July 2007 the EC
alleged that the firm had claimed "unreasonable royalties" for the
use of certain DRAM chip patents.

It said that "Rambus engaged in intentional deceptive conduct in the
context of the standard-setting process, for example by not
disclosing the existence of the patents which it later claimed were
relevant to the adopted standard."

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this year slapped a
separate charge on Rambus of hoodwinking the JEDEC industry standards
group into approving memory technologies on which it secretly held
patents.

The FTC found that Rambus had through subterfuge, illegally gained a
monopoly in four key memory technologies.

In March it stayed some of its remedy order against the company on
the basis that it filed its appeal in a timely manner.

The "patent ambush" proceedings are the first of its kind under EU
anti-trust law. =AE



Michelle Childs
Head of European Affairs
Knowledge Ecology International
michelle.childs@cptech.org