Sep. 13, 2012
Kenneth Nissly
See more on Kenneth NisslyO'Melveny & Myers LLP Menlo Park Litigation Specialty: intellectual property
When a jury last year shot down Rambus' high-profile lawsuit against Micron Technology Inc. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc., it marked a sea change in the long-running saga, Nissly said.
Rambus had claimed $3.95 billion in damages, which would be trebled under California's antitrust statute. Rambus Inc. v. Micron Technology Inc., CGC-04-431105 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed May 5, 2004).
Rambus alleged that Hynix and co-defendants Micron Technology conspired to prevent RDRAM memory technology from becoming the standard computer memory technology worldwide.
Nissly successfully convinced the jury otherwise.
"It's clear now that the verdict was the start of a string of litigation setbacks for Rambus," said Nissly, who led the Hynix team for O'Melveny & Myers LLP. "The courts are starting to understand and recognize that Rambus' behavior in enforcing its patents shouldn't be approved."
Meanwhile, Nissly said the ongoing Rambus litigation has raised some troubling questions about the U.S. patent system.
"The longevity of the case and the scope of the litigation is extraordinary," he said. "When people step back and look at what Rambus did and is doing, it contributes to the concern - in both a legal and public policy perspective - is the patent system really working in a way that is economically beneficial?"
Nissly has been in the thick of the Rambus epic.
He and other defense attorneys have repeatedly argued that Rambus should not get any money because it shredded documents despite a legal duty to preserve them in advance of planned litigation against the defendants.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sent the Hynix case back to U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte.
Nissly, who helped write the brief to the Federal Circuit, is serving as lead counsel for Hynix in the matter and all of the other Hynix-Rambus litigation. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. v. Rambus Inc., C-00-20905 RMW (N.D. Cal.).
"We've argued to the judge that what Rambus did was wrong and that as a consequence they shouldn't be able to enforce their patents."
- PAT BRODERICK
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