The FTC todayannouncedit has filed antitrust suit against Rambus. This action is not totally surprising since it wasrumoredthe FTC was previously investigating the company and their practices with the JEDEC standards committee. FTC commissoners voted 5-0 to proceed with an antitrust suit against Rambus. For those not familiar with Rambus’ actions, they are being accused of working with the JEDEC while standards were being hammered out for SDRAM technology without notifying the council they had patent applications pending on the same technology. They are also accused of taking information from the JEDEC meetings to modify and apply for further patents, while trying to push through standards which they would hold patents for. This placed them in a position to then charge royalties on the accepted standards. Apparently the FTC did not take well to Rambus’ underhanded tactics and released the statement:
"By issuing this complaint, the commission is sending a signal not only to Rambus but also to other companies. The message is this: If you are going to take part in a standards process, be mindful to abide by the ground rules and to participate in good faith."
Rambus has used litigation to extort royalties from several memory manufacturers, which has resulted in several countersuits alleging fraud. It is unclear how the FTC’s actions will affect pending court cases. There is a possibility the FTC may declare Rambus’ SDRAM and DDR patents null and void, and if convicted, they may have to pay back royalties already collected from licensees. A copy of the FTC complaint can be foundhere.
