Nvidia signs a deal with Rambus

PATENT TROLL Rambus has managed to get graphics chip designer Nvidia to sign a licensing agreement that should see it make some cash.

Last month the US International Trade Commission (ITC) had ruled in favour of Rambus, resulting in Nvidia facing a ban on using its own chips. At the time Nvidia had claimed that it would get around the ITC ruling by using a prior settlement between the European Commission (EC) and Rambus on royalty charges.

Since then, it seems both parties have managed to drag themselves around a table and beat out an agreement. It will see Nvidia paying a one percent royalty to Rambus for SDR memory controllers and two percent for other memory controllers. It's hard to say whether this represents a good deal for Nvidia as the EC agreement with Rambus had allowed the firm to charge anything up to 40 cents for each memory controller.

Neither firm has accepted any liability or dismissed litigation therefore it is still possible that they will see their day in court. The agreement should lift the threat of the ITC banning imports of Nvidia's graphics chips.

For Nvidia, the extra charge is unlikely to help its financial standing after it posted lacklustre results last week. Rambus, however, has managed to snag another firm in its patent net. µ