Beleaguered, litigious Rambus is vigorously denying it destroyed internal documents in "bad-faith" and is attempting to block a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) motion to declare a summary judgment against the Los Altos, Calif.-based semiconductor chip designer.
The FTC claims Rambus has forfeited its right to a trial because of its actions in allegedly destroying documents germane to an FTC action against the company. The agency has charged Rambus with engaging in anti-competitive behavior, and if the agency is successful in its summary judgment motion, the next step would be directly to the punishment phase of the case.
If Rambus is unable to stop the FTC action, the company could be forced to forfeit more than a billion dollars in royalty claims for its chip designs. Rambus doesn"t make or sell chips but collects patent royalties for its designs from chip makers such as Intel. The company"s primary chip designs used to improve the speed of programs used for databases, digital photography and games.