Posted on Tuesday, December 10 2013 @ 12:07 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Micron signed a 7-year patent license deal with Rambus that settles all outstanding patent and antitrust claims. Under the deal, Micron gains the right to use any Rambus patent for the production of specified integrated circuit products, including any memory-related product. Micron will pay quarterly fees to Rambus, the fees are variable and are capped at $10 million per quarter.
Rambus Inc. and Micron Technology, Inc. today announced they have signed a broad patent cross license agreement. Under the agreement, Micron gains the right to use any Rambus patent for the manufacture of specified integrated circuit products, including any memory integrated circuit products. Certain of these memory products will enjoy a perpetual, paid-up license after the end of the initial term. The agreement requires quarterly royalty payments to Rambus over the next seven years capped at $10 million per quarter, with a rolling twelve-month cap fixed at $40 million, or $280 million during the initial term. In addition, Micron will have the option to extend the initial term of this agreement for additional renewal periods. As part of this agreement, the two companies have settled all outstanding patent and antitrust claims, and the agreement covers both Micron and Elpida products. Other terms and details of the agreement are confidential.
"This milestone agreement puts years of legal disputes behind both companies and opens doors for future cooperation," said Dr. Ron Black, president and chief executive officer at Rambus. "We continue to focus on developing innovative technology and furthering our more open, collaborative relationship with the broader industry."
"The industry is at an important juncture with the emergence of memory systems and solutions, and Micron is ideally positioned to capitalize on this trend," said Micron CEO Mark Durcan.
