Hynix edges Rambus in patent case

By Kim Yoo-chul

Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, chalked up a victory against U.S.-based chip designer Rambus in litigation, in which the latter claimed the former infringed on its patents.

A U.S. appeals court overturned a decision made in 2009 by a lower court, which obliged Hynix to pay $400 million to Rambus.

The fact that Rambus had destroyed hundreds of boxes of documents related to the suit worked in favorably for Hynix.

Thanks to the judgment, Hynix is estimated to save as much as $500 million ― the initial penalty of $400 million plus interest and royalties, which amounts to about 20 percent of its net profits of 2.65 trillion won last year.

``Chances are that the case will not be reviewed in the highest court. Rambus is likely to accept the verdict,’’ said a lawyer who specializes in trade-related issues in a telephone interview with The Korea Times.

Rambus officials in Korea weren’t available for comments.

Understandably, Hynix welcomed the news from the United States.

``Hynix welcomes the decision against the Sunnyvale company because we have a good opportunity to take the upper hand in any following negotiations with Rambus,’’ Hynix spokesman Son Kyung-bae said.

The triumph is a quite contrast to Hynix’s domestic rival Samsung Electronics. Samsung settled a patent suit with Rambus in January 2010 in a deal that cost it $900 million.

Rambus has filed lawsuits against a long list of technology companies in the past decade. It has also been involved in a patents-related court battle with Micron Technology in the U.S.

The ruling comes at a time when Hynix has racked up good news, according to market watchers.

It has earned more cash thanks to the stabilization of chip prices and increased chip orders from its clients such as Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) amid the steady popularity of digital gadgets.

Hynix has also been in talks with Toshiba of Japan for possible collaboration in flash memory chips used in smartphones and tablets to enrich its bottom line, though Son of Hynix declined to confirm this.

``Timing is very nice. Investors will further flock to Hynix as the court ruling is good enough to boost investor sentiment for Hynix,’’ said Kim Young-june, an analyst at LIG Investment.

The legal dispute between Hynix and Rambus dates back to the early 2000s when Rambus started taking companies to court.

Rambus had patented technologies to enhance the performance of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, and it accused rivals such as Hynix of having used its patents free of charge.

The company had been tried to urge other firms to license its technology, but failed to yield returns that it had earlier hoped for.