Rambus signs six-year patent licensing deal with Fujitsu

PATENT LICENSING OUTFIT Rambus has inked a six-year patent licensing deal with Fujitsu covering integrated circuit products.

Rambus has managed to get a large number of semiconductor firms to sign patent licensing agreements covering DRAM and memory controller designs. Now Rambus has managed to snare Fujitsu, making it sign a six-year deal on some of its integrated circuits products.

Ronald Black, CEO of Rambus said, "As a global leader in the semiconductor market, Fujitsu Semiconductor is an important customer and this agreement validates the continued strength of our portfolio. We look forward to the opportunity to expand our customer relationships beyond patent license agreements to showcase our technical contributions and system know-how with our customers."

Rambus recently was found to have destroyed evidence that could have been relevant to its trial with DRAM manufacturer Hynix. While Hynix still has to pay royalties to Rambus, the decision paved the way for a cut in the money Rambus can expect to receive.

Rambus did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement, but it would be interesting to know if Fujitsu, which wants to flog its semiconductor business, even bothered to bargain hard with Rambus, because it wants out of what is increasingly becoming an unprofitable business for the firm. µ