NVIDIA Says Patent Settlement With Rambus Unlikely

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In an interview with BusinessWeek, NVIDIA’s top lawyer said that a settlement with Rambus is unlikely. I am not trying to be funny here but isn’t this what every company says...you know...right before they settle? :D

“Rambus and Nvidia talked for eight years before they sued us,” David Shannon, Nvidia’s general counsel, said in an interview yesterday in Washington. “I don’t think it’s realistic to think that there’s going to be an agreement any time soon between the two companies.”
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Hmm, its interesting nVidia's lawyer states they were in talks for eight years.

You know how people always complain Rambus is an evil money-grubbing company and 'why'd they wait four years into the 8800s production before sueing?'

I guess maybe the answer has been given. It seems like from nVidia's own lawyer that it may be due to the fact that they were in communication/discussion/talks over liscensing terms for 3 years prior to the 8800 development, during the 8800s manufacturing and while the 8800 series was being sold and the following 2 generations of video cards(99xx/GTS xxx). I think that entire period encompasses about 8 years of time, doesn't it?
 
If you read the full article you'll see it says the 3 patents nvidia is being sued for have already been rejected by the patent office, Rambus can only sue because that rejection is under appeal. Hence not too surprising nvidia have decided against paying up.
 
Rambus just posed a wider loss last quarter. It lost 23.3 million last quarter vs a loss of 15.5 million a year ago. But has settled with Samsung for 900 million paid over five years. That will fund a whole bunch more lawsuits! Don't forget the trial vs Hynix and Micron is set to start soon.
 
Does anyone really care about RAMBUS anymore?

I know most memory is done in multiple channels but the blooms been off the rose
since the 850 chipset went away. Seems like a desperate move considering there
wouldn't be much of a company without Intel's support at the start. Probably one of
the reasons the patents are flaky too.
 
Does RAMBUS make anything nowadays? I remember their memories were horribly priced and people would be scared to buy them.
 
Please nvidia, for the sake of the industry, don't settle with these douche bags. If you look up the definition of patent troll, you'll find Rambus' name.
 
^^ I laughed when i read that post.

Everyone loves to bash Rambus, folks lighten up. You act like you are having to pay or the one getting sued.
 
KILLER_K said:
^^ I laughed when i read that post.

Everyone loves to bash Rambus, folks lighten up. You act like you are having to pay or the one getting sued.
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Er... do you know what a zero-sum game is? This is one example.

Any company who has to fork out cash in a settlement, has to recoup that loss somehow. I'll give you three guesses who foots the bill at the end of the day?

All that money ends up lining the pockets of the patent troll, without the industry or the consumer benefitting from the cash injection into a single company who won't be using it to make better products.

nVidia, you have two collective middle fingers. I trust that you will use them appropriately. ;)
 
WBurchnall said:
Hmm, its interesting nVidia's lawyer states they were in talks for eight years.

You know how people always complain Rambus is an evil money-grubbing company and 'why'd they wait four years into the 8800s production before sueing?'

I guess maybe the answer has been given. It seems like from nVidia's own lawyer that it may be due to the fact that they were in communication/discussion/talks over liscensing terms for 3 years prior to the 8800 development, during the 8800s manufacturing and while the 8800 series was being sold and the following 2 generations of video cards(99xx/GTS xxx). I think that entire period encompasses about 8 years of time, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

It sucks when a company only cares about money, innovation down the drain
 
KILLER_K said:
^^ I laughed when i read that post.

Everyone loves to bash Rambus, folks lighten up. You act like you are having to pay or the one getting sued.
Click to expand...

The consumer is the one who pays. It will be part of the cost of the video card.
 
KILLER_K said:
^^ I laughed when i read that post.

Everyone loves to bash Rambus, folks lighten up. You act like you are having to pay or the one getting sued.
Click to expand...

What planet have you been living on the last few years.

RAMBUS develops and innovates nothing. RAMBUS is a scumbag law firm masquerading as a technology company.
 
ICOM said:
RAMBUS develops and innovates nothing. RAMBUS is a scumbag law firm masquerading as a technology company.
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I'd blame JEDEC for setting the 'precedent' for other 'target' companies to follow.
 
JEDEC thought they were using open standards that is why people hate rambus...
 
drakken said:
JEDEC thought they were using open standards that is why people hate rambus...
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No, Rambus always had the intent of proprietary licensing. The companies in JEDEC even signed NDAs to view the technical data. Rambus didn't like the how licensing was going to be handled (fair enough, their choice [so was their impression...]), so they withdrew. 'Strangely' enough, companies within JEDEC began producing parts with Rambus tech without having been licensed, which is what started the wildfire.
 
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