SAN FRANCISCO, March 4 (Reuters) - Memory chip designer Rambus Inc said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had affirmed two of three patents at the center of a legal dispute over whether graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp infringed on Rambus technology.
Rambus' stock rose 6.82 percent to close at $23.19 on Nasdaq.
Nvidia requested the review of the patents -- which relate to the memory controller part of a graphics chip -- after Rambus filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission in Washington alleging Nvidia's infringement.
The commission issued an initial ruling in Rambus' favor earlier this year, potentially threatening to block the import and domestic sales of Nvidia's offending products.
Rambus Chief Executive Officer Harold Hughes said the result of the patent re-examination was good news.
'Today the PTO confirmed, affirmed, whatever is the right word, several of the claims in two of our patents which is I think most helpful in coming to resolution with Nvidia,' he said.
Nvidia spokesman Hector Marinez said it would appeal the decision to affirm the remaining two patents. 'We're pleased about the one that was rejected,' he said.
If patents are definitively invalidated, companies cannot sue for infringement.
Nvidia shares closed up 0.18 percent at $16.66 on Nasdaq, but slipped to $16.43 in after-hours trading.
(Reporting by Ian Sherr in San Francisco and Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Richard Chang)
((ian.sherr@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415.677.2542; Reuters Messaging: ian.sherr.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: RAMBUS/PATENT (See http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/ for Media and Technology -- Reuters' media and technology blog.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Rambus' stock rose 6.82 percent to close at $23.19 on Nasdaq.
Nvidia requested the review of the patents -- which relate to the memory controller part of a graphics chip -- after Rambus filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission in Washington alleging Nvidia's infringement.
The commission issued an initial ruling in Rambus' favor earlier this year, potentially threatening to block the import and domestic sales of Nvidia's offending products.
Rambus Chief Executive Officer Harold Hughes said the result of the patent re-examination was good news.
'Today the PTO confirmed, affirmed, whatever is the right word, several of the claims in two of our patents which is I think most helpful in coming to resolution with Nvidia,' he said.
Nvidia spokesman Hector Marinez said it would appeal the decision to affirm the remaining two patents. 'We're pleased about the one that was rejected,' he said.
If patents are definitively invalidated, companies cannot sue for infringement.
Nvidia shares closed up 0.18 percent at $16.66 on Nasdaq, but slipped to $16.43 in after-hours trading.
(Reporting by Ian Sherr in San Francisco and Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Richard Chang)
((ian.sherr@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415.677.2542; Reuters Messaging: ian.sherr.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: RAMBUS/PATENT (See http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/ for Media and Technology -- Reuters' media and technology blog.) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.