Rambus Accepts Smaller Award, General Counsel Steps Down

Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 7/28/2006

Rambus has agreed to accept a lowered damage award stemming from its lawsuit with Hynix, and separately the company said that John Danforth, senior VP and general counsel, would step down from that position, effective immediately, and serve as senior legal advisor.

The judge in Rambus suit against Hynix said that he would grant Hynix’s motion for a new trial on the issue of damages unless Rambus accepted a lower award amount for damages.  Rambus has decided to accept the lower amount $133.6 million, down from the jury’s original award of $306.9 million.

The jury found that Hynix’s SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 memory products sold in the United States between June 2000 and the end of 2005 infringed on Rambus’s patents.

"We accept Judge Whyte's decision and continue to be gratified with the outcome of this case, including the jury's finding on validity and infringement," said Robert Kramer, Rambus' acting general counsel. "We now look forward to presenting our position on the remaining issues in this case."

Rambus' filing with the court accepted the lower damages award with the understanding that the $133.6M did not include prejudgment interest or damages for Hynix's infringement after Dec. 31, 2005, both of which Rambus continues to pursue as part of this trial. The third phase of the case is scheduled to begin August 21, 2006.

Separately, former General Counsel Danforth shifts his focus to a specific set of legal matters for Rambus as its senior legal counsel.

"In the nearly five years John has served as general counsel, he has helped us make great strides in being fairly compensated for our patented inventions," said Harold Hughes, president and CEO at Rambus, in a statement. "In John's new role, on which he began to focus last October, he will continue to bring insight and leadership to key litigation matters."

Part of Danforth’s focus will be on state court antitrust claims and certain aspects of patent cases.

"After many years of litigation, we now hope to bring these cases to conclusions that adequately reflect the remarkable industry-wide contributions Rambus engineers have made," Danforth said.

Robert Kramer, deputy general counsel, will serve as acting general counsel until the general counsel role is filled. Kramer joined Rambus in October 2001 has practiced law at intellectual property law firms in New York, Washington D.C., and Silicon Valley.