Rambus Seeks Reversal of Ruling for Infineon

Rambus Inc. will ask an appeals court today to throw out a finding that it committed fraud in getting computer memory-chip patents and to let it pursue infringement claims against Infineon Technologies.

Rambus accused the German chip maker of using its patented technology for high-speed memory chips. Instead, a U.S. district judge dismissed the infringement claim and a jury determined that Rambus got the patents through fraud. Rambus was ordered to pay Infineon $350,000 in damages and more than $7 million in legal fees.

The Los Altos-based company is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears all patent appeals, to reverse those findings.

The debate centers on patents for the most common type of memory chip, known as SDRAM, and a more advanced chip developed by Rambus, the DDR SDRAM, which is becoming the industry standard.

Rambus also faces shareholder lawsuits accusing it of deceiving investors about its patents, and the Federal Trade Commission is investigating its patents.