SK Hynix to pay Rambus over infringement suit

Rambus Inc. has revealed that the judge of the Northern District of California has issued his decision in the matter with SK Hynix. The Honourable Ronald M. Whyte said Rambus patents in this case are valid and infringed by SK Hynix and Rambus is entitled to receive royalty payments for past infringement based on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) rates.

"This is a positive result as it is consistent with what we've been seeking all along—reasonable compensation for the use of our patented inventions," said Thomas Lavelle, SVP and general counsel at Rambus. "We appreciate the Court's extensive efforts in working through years of complex arguments. While this decision does not provide SK Hynix with a going-forward license, we are hopeful it will lead to putting this matter behind us completely and allow us to reach reasonable agreements."

In his ruling, Whyte found that Rambus executed its document retention practices during a time when it reasonably anticipated litigation, and thus willfully spoliated evidence, but also found that Rambus did not deliberately destroy documents it knew to be damaging. The parties have been ordered to provide briefs on the issue of the damages SK Hynix will need to pay Rambus.