Rambus Wins Again

Implications: This week, the Federal Trade Commission was denied a chance to have its case against Rambus reheard by the fuller panel of judges.  That clears the way for Rambus to go back on offense, pushing its patent claims in several cases already significantly underway.

Analysis: For a while, it looked like the Federal Trade Commisson was going to be one of the only legal decision-makers to hold Rambus accountable for its involvement the JEDEC standard-setting body.  The FTC had in fact ruled that Rambus' behavior at JEDEC was culpable, and indeed had imposed punishing licensing terms on Rambus as a result.

Then the wheels came off.  On appeal, the FTC decision was fully reversed.  Then, this week, the FTC's request to have its case reheard was itself denied.  True, the FTC now can in theory appeal to the Supreme Court or try a new legal theory in what would be basically a fresh case; but, odds are, the FTC will not make much headway on either of those approaches.  Rambus looks to have just fully ducked the FTC's authority.

That sets up what could be a great run for Rambus this summer.  With the FTC-related risk now very low, Rambus can focus on the patent trials underway in California -- in particular with Hynix and Samsung this summer, and a host of manufacturers in January.  And, while JEDEC might be an issue in some of that litigation, Rambus is unlikely to be too worried this time around.  After all, now that the FTC struck out, Rambus can point to two big decisions this year where its JEDEC behavior was studied and deemed fully permissible.

Next up: We are still waiting for a decision from the Delaware court on spoliation, and then likely a decision from California on the Hynix remedy.