Court Rules Against Rambus in Patent Fight

Micron Technology Inc. of Boise, Idaho, has announced that the US District Court of Delaware has found that patents Rambus Inc. had asserted against Micron are unenforceable. The court found that “the spoliation conduct was extensive, including within its scope the destruction of innumerable documents relating to all aspects of Rambus’ business.” In the opinion issued by the Delaware court, the Honorable Sue L. Robinson declared that “in light of Rambus' litigation conduct, the very integrity of the litigation process has been impugned...[and] that the appropriate sanction for the conduct of record is to declare the patents in suit unenforceable against Micron.” Four of the 12 patents asserted against the company and held to be unenforceable also have been asserted in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The company believes that the Delaware Court’s ruling applies to the remaining patents in the California case, and it expects to file a motion with the California court seeking a ruling of unenforceability based on the previous decision.