Rambus and NVIDIA Settle Differences with Patent Agreement

One would not have expected this to happen after the recent loss Rambus suffered against NVIDIA, but the two appear to have decided to drop all actions and just sign a license agreement.

Long story short, NVIDIA and Rambus have signed a patent license agreement that covers a broad range of integrated circuit (IC) products sold by the former.

Under the terms of this move, both have settled whatever quarrel there was between them, for better or worse.

The two companies were fighting over infringement claims that Rambus made against the Santa Clara, California-based GPU maker some time ago.

"This is an important license agreement as it settles our differences and allows us to move forward with NVIDIA, the leader in visual and parallel computing," said Harold Hughes, president and chief executive officer at Rambus.

"Looking forward, we have the opportunity to focus on developing innovative solutions in concert with our licensees to help bring compelling, innovative products to market."

Most of the details regarding the pact were kept strictly confidential, except the duration: the contract covers a period of five years.

Some may find this development surprising after what other news has surfaced recently: it has barely been a week since Rambus has been dealt a heavy blow during NVIDIA's retaliation to its legal proceedings.

In the dispute against NVIDIA, the licensing company not only got its claims invalidated, but it even lost one of three major patents.

On a related note, Rambus recently bought Unity Semiconductor, gaining a technology that can accurately be described as an alternative to NAND.

One could say that these are signs suggesting that the company is trying to change its ways somewhat.

Then again, after years of having lawsuit settlements as the primary source of income, it will be hard to break away from this mold.