Bad news for Nvidia

[Black Panther]

Some bad and likely very expensive news for NVIDIA. The International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled today that NVIDIA is violating three patents owned by Rambus. The patents relate to memory controller technology that is used in the company's GeForce, Quadro, nForce, Tesla and Tegra products.

A judge with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington said today that Nvidia is violating three patents owned by Rambus. Two other patents are invalid, said Judge Theodore Essex. His decision, which is subject to review by the full commission, may result in a ban on imports of Nvidia chips and products that use them, including some computers made by Hewlett-Packard Co.

Rambus, based in Los Altos, California, has been in litigation for a decade against companies that refused to license its patents. On Jan. 19, Samsung Electronics Co. said it would pay $900 million to end its legal dispute with Rambus and reach a new licensing deal over computer-memory technology.

Source

[xBruce88x]

o.o a ban on imports!? looks like i'll never see a fermi (in my hands)

[El_Mayo]

MWUAHAHA
nvidia just aren't very lucky these days

[mstenholm]

They can dump the fermi cheap in Europe then

[HalfAHertz]

Rambus...they should add their name next to the definition of Patent Troll in the dictionary

[Marineborn]

all i can say is thats karma for ya,

[Paulieg]

Originally Posted by HalfAHertz

Rambus...they should add their name next to the definition of Patent Troll in the dictionary

Patent troll? So, if someone steals your ideas, makes money, and doesn't offer to compensate, you'd be ok with that?

[TheMailMan78]

Um this sucks for all of us! ATI cards will skyrocket! Fuck! I hope Nvidia gets out of this one. I bet ATI even starts charging for driver releases.

[jjFarking]

Originally Posted by Paulieg

Patent troll? So, if someone steals your ideas, makes money, and doesn't offer to compensate, you'd be ok with that?

Works for the RIAA

Good point though. Just a pity that it seems to be the main way for Rambus to get money nowadays..

[TheMailMan78]

If this goes through the EU will sue ATI for having a monopoly six months after.

[HalfAHertz]

Originally Posted by Paulieg

Patent troll? So, if someone steals your ideas, makes money, and doesn't offer to compensate, you'd be ok with that?

No I wouldn't.

Problem is, I don't think those were Rambus's ideas, they were just the first to get their grubby little hands on the patent. Now I have no proof of this, these are just my own personal beliefs. I'm not stating I'm right, this is just the image I have built for Rambus. They are constantly in the news and it's usually about somebody suing somebody else and never about introducing some revolutionary or new design idea...

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by HalfAHertz

No I wouldn't.

Problem is, I don't think those were Rambus's ideas, they were just the first to get their grubby little hands on the patent. Now I have no proof of this, these are just my own personal beliefs. I'm not stating I'm right, this is just the image I have built for Rambus. They are constantly in the news and it's usually about somebody suing somebody else and never about introducing some revolutionary or new design idea...

Maybe because they have all been stolen from them?

[AsRock]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

If this goes through the EU will sue ATI for having a monopoly six months after.

And soon after or before that INTEL will buy nVidia ?.

[phanbuey]

Originally Posted by HalfAHertz

Rambus...they should add their name next to the definition of Patent Troll in the dictionary

I know right? Frustrating wtf has rambus done lately? They need to disappear. But it will probably end up with nvidia giving them a few (hundred) million and they will retract into obscurity for another few years.

[REVHEAD]

Originally Posted by phanbuey

I know right? Frustrating wtf has rambus done lately? They need to disappear. But it will probably end up with nvidia giving them a few (hundred) million and they will retract into obscurity for another few years.

There shareholders will not allow this, i will be very suprised if Nvidia can take much more of this before Intel steps in and buys them out, they are allmost dead and buried. What with there mobile GPU debarcal the last 2 years or moRe this is a major setback for them and all the shareholders.

Nvidia has been trying hard to play hardball, there sli chipsets were uneeded yet drove them some extra cash, same with there motherboared division, now those 2 products are dead, they are trying to break into the mobile phone market, and leaving the long term customers who purchased there gpus in the past , waiting and waiting for a good product.

I think all Nvidia is doing is hurting themselves, and there companys worth is dropping everyday, if this keeps going Intel are going to get a bargain price for this.

[TheMailMan78]

Originally Posted by REVHEAD

There shareholders will not allow this, i will be very suprised if Nvidia can take much more of this before Intel steps in and buys them out, they are allmost dead and buried. What with there mobile GPU debarcal the last 2 years or moRe this is a major setback for them and all the shareholders.

Nvidia has been trying hard to play hardball, there sli chipsets were uneeded yet drove them some extra cash, same with there motherboared division, now those 2 products are dead, they are trying to break into the mobile phone market, and leaving the long term customers who purchased there gpus in the past , waiting and waiting for a good product.

I think all Nvidia is doing is hurting themselves, and there companys worth is dropping everyday, if this keeps going Intel are going to get a bargain price for this.

Nvidia is in far better shape than ATI is pound for pound. Nvidia is going nowhere and is FAR away from being dead and buried.

[dr emulator (madmax)]

i just want to sue the person who gave me this cold the t

[jjFarking]

Originally Posted by TheMailMan78

Nvidia is in far better shape than ATI is pound for pound. Nvidia is going nowhere and is FAR away from being dead and buried.

Agreed. I think wikipedia has nVidia at 64% market share still, with ATI at 27% or so.
nVidia is far from dead. They're just .. fudging atm

[devguy]

They'll likely just settle and Rambus will get some dough and nVidia will be on their merry way. Shit like this happens all the time, and it usually is settled.

And nVidia is far from being dead, that is ridiculous. How many times have we seen on these boards that either nVidia or Intel releases a new product superior to AMDs offering, and people post, "OMG, AMD is dead!"? Too many times. They made it through the HD 2xxx series and Phenom vs Core 2, and I'm sure nVidia will make it through this with no big problems.

[Sasqui]

Expect an interestiong trading day on Mon: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NVDA

Currently the after hours bid/ask price don't really reflect any badness.

I'm sure they will work it out - just what cards (patents) do they have up thier sleeves they can use against Rambus? If none, they'll surely pay some royalties - if neither, no one wins.

I've been with a software company for 12 years and have 4 patents - the corporate patent lawyers explained the biggest reason for building a patent portfolio was specifically to leverage in case someone came on the attack.

[sinar]

Rambus business motto: Inovation, licensing and litigation

http://www.rambus.com/us/patents/innovations/index.html

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by sinar

Rambus business motto: Inovation, licensing and litigation

http://www.rambus.com/us/patents/innovations/index.html

LOL

[skylamer]

Originally Posted by Paulieg

Patent troll? So, if someone steals your ideas, makes money, and doesn't offer to compensate, you'd be ok with that?

That's problem of RAmbus, not of nVIDIA ?!

[Animalpak]

Litigation ? what it means ?

[DRDNA]

LITIGATION - A case, controversy, or lawsuit. A contest authorized by law, in a court of justice, for the purpose of enforcing a right. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.

The process of bringing and pursuing a lawsuit. Litigation often proceeds much like trench warfare; initial court papers define the parties' legal positions as trenches define battlefield positions. After the initial activity, lawyers sit back for several months or years and lob legal artillery at each other until they grow tired of the warfare and begin settlement negotiations. If settlement is unsuccessful (90+% of all lawsuits are settled without trial), the case goes to trial, and the trial may be followed by a lengthy appeal.

Many states have enacted, or are considering, reforms directed at shortening the time a case takes to get to trial and minimizing the expense traditionally associated with litigation. Among these reforms are:

'Fast track' rules that prohibit delays and require each phase of the case to be completed within a particular period of time;

Limits on how much information can be obtained from the opposing party;

Requirements that certain types of cases be arbitrated (a simpler procedure) rather than pushed through the court system;

Requirements that attorneys inform their clients of alternative dispute resolution procedures such as mediation, and;

Court-sponsored techniques such as mini-trials and early neutral evaluation that are designed to get the parties to settle by giving them a realistic assessment of what is likely to happen if the case goes to trial.

Copy and paste from >>http://www.lectlaw.com/def/l055.htm