14 DAY TRIAL // As some end-users may know, NVIDIA and Rambus have been locked in a patent infringement lawsuit for quite a few months now. This legal battle is centered around Rambus' claim that certain products that the GPU maker has on sale, such as graphics, media and applications processors, infringe several of its patents. An evidentiary hearing on the asserted patents was held on October 13-20, 2009, before the ALJ (Administrative Law Judge). Then, on January 22, 2010, said ATJ found that three patents were valid, enforceable and infringed.
Rambus finally received a notice from the ITC, in which the latter expresses its intention to issue a Limited Exclusion Order which bars the importation of Respondents' infringing products into the United States.
Cease and Desist Orders will also supposedly be sent to identified Respondents, meant to prevent the selling of those that have already been imported. The list of companies affected by this, besides NVIDA itself, includes ASUS, Biostar, EVGA, Gigabyte, HP, MSI, Palit and Sparkle, among others. Under this limited exclusion order, said respondents may post a bond that will allow them to import and sell these infringing products during a 60-day Presidential review period.
The bond amount that will have to be posted is 2.65% of the entered value of the subject imports.
“The ITC’s decision is another demonstration of the value of our continued commitment to innovation,” said Thomas Lavelle, senior vice president and general counsel at Rambus. “We are extremely pleased with the ITC’s decision to issue a Limited Exclusion Order, signaling the strength of our innovation efforts beyond the Farmwald-Horowitz patents of our founders. The value of our patented inventions has been recognized by our current licensees, and we will continue our efforts to license others.”
Of course, it must be noted that this is just the ITC's affirmation of the ALJ's findings, with certain modifications that have not yet been elaborated upon. The final determination has yet to actually be released.