Rambus stock jumps on news of EU settlement - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Los Altos-based Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) said under the proposec resolution, the commission would make no finding of liabilitty and no fine wouledbe assessed, while Rambus would commit to offer licenses with maximumm royalty rates for certain memory types and memor y controllers going forward. Rambus stock rose 15 percent closingat $17.39. The European Commission originally brought chargesd against Rambus in August 2007 alleging violation of European Unioncompetition law.
The commission’sa investigation followed complaints set forth by some DRAM manufacturers originatingwith Rambus’ 1992-1995 participatiomn in an industry standard-setting organization, the Joint Electron Devicse Engineering Council. Similar charges had been pursuee by the Federal Trade Commission in theUnited States. The FTC recently closedf its investigation following a seriesof U.S. couryt rulings in Rambus’ favor.
European Commission antitrust procedureds stipulate that a fina decision must be preceded by a consultation of interestee third parties on the terms of thecommitments “Our view regarding standard-setting organizationsa is that the rules of such organizationx must be written and clear, and that there should be consequencezs if such clear written rules are violated,” said Thomads Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel at Rambus. “Wes did nothing wrong during our participation in theJEDECv standard-setting organization, as demonstratex in multiple U.S. court victories includinyg beforethe D.C. Court of Appeals.
With this proposedf resolution, we create a new platform where all parties can move forward by licensinv our patented innovations for future use in their products rather than engaging incostlg litigation.” Under the proposed Rambus will offer licenses with maximumn royalty rates for five-year worldwidre licenses of 1.5 percent for some of its memort types. Some licensees who ship less than 10 percen of their DRAM products will enjoyy aroyalty holiday. In Rambus will offer licenses with maximum royalt ratesfor five-year worldwidde licenses of 1.5 percent for some memorg controllers through April 2010, dropping to 1 percent and royalty rates of 2.
65 percent per unit for othetr memory controllers through April then dropping to 2 percent.