The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked for a "default
judgment" against memory chipmaker Rambus. The FTC alleged the
company destroyed documents related to their anti-competitive
case.
Rambus has filed an objection to the motion for default judgment,
contending that the FTC has not and cannot prove that the company
acted in bad faith when it adopted its "document retention" policy
in 1998. Rambus argued that its policy is no different from that of
"most" public companies.
"Unless intended simply as character assassination, this motion
likely reflects a growing recognition... that there are serious
holes in their case," Rambus said.
The FTC filed a complaint against Rambus in June, alleging that
Rambus did not tell the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council
Solid State Technology Association (JEDEC) that it held patents on
synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) technology during standard-setting
discussions for that technology.
Rambus has been involved in several private lawsuits over the past
few years with DRAM suppliers, such as Infineon Technologies, Hynix
Semiconductor and Micron Technology, over claims that the DRAM
vendors were infringing upon Rambus' memory technology patents and
not paying licensing fees for that technology.
The latest turn in the legal battle with the FTC stems from the
commission's misinterpretation of Rambus' internal document policy.
Like most companies, Rambus generates backup copies of its e-mail
servers as a hedge against a catastrophic system breakdown. The
company erases those tapes every three months under the document
policy, instituted years before the FTC filed a formal complaint
against the company.
The FTC accused Rambus of "willful and bad-faith destruction of
evidence", according to an FTC spokeswoman.
Danforth denied the claims of document destruction. "It's a way to
make the company look bad and to make executives look bad," he
said.
The proceeding is scheduled for 9 April and both the FTC and Rambus
have asked the judge to rule on the motion for default judgment as
soon as possible.