By Don Clark
Rambus Inc. said it would receive an additional $432 million
from chip maker SK Hynix Inc. under a six-year extension of a
licensing agreement, the latest fruits from a trove of patents that
prompted years of court battles.
Under the deal announced Thursday, SK Hynix would continue to
pay Rambus about $12 million a quarter until 2024. The companies in
2013 agreed to settle their legal disputes, with SK Hynix agreeing
to pay $240 million over five years through the $12 million
quarterly payments.
SK Hynix, based in South Korea, is one of the largest makers of
the chip known as dynamic random access memory, or DRAM.
Competitors include Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology
Inc.
Rambus, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the 1990s developed
technologies to help boost the performance of memory chips. After
failing to convince chip makers to license its technology, Rambus
resorted to patent litigation that prompted a legal backlash along
with antitrust charges by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The
agency dropped its case after an adverse ruling by the U.S. Supreme
Court.
In recent years, Rambus made peace with most of its former
opponents. In December 2013, for example, Micron agreed to pay up
to $280 million to Rambus over seven years.
The company has also invested in businesses that aren't
dependent on litigation. It paid $342.5 million in June 2011 to buy
Cryptography Research Inc., a San Francisco company specializing in
security products that include chips used to protect content on pay
TV systems and in anticounterfeiting applications.
Ronald Black, who joined Rambus in 2012 as president and chief
executive, said SK Hynix's decision to extend the licensing
agreement showed his company's ability to provide valuable
technology to chip makers and "reaffirms our commitment to work
collaboratively with customers."
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
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