Rambus Settlement Offer Accepted

BRUSSELS (Reuters) — European Union regulators accepted last Wednesday a pledge by the chip maker Rambus to cut royalties worldwide on computer memory chip patents for five years to settle antitrust charges and avoid a possible fine.

“An effective standard-setting process should take place in a non-discriminatory, open and transparent way to ensure competition on the merits and to allow consumers to benefit from technical development and innovation,” the competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said. 

Kroes went on to say that "the US competition authorities are taking the same approach. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz has recently stated that standard-setting is generally pro-competitive and that behaviour that could undermine its benefits for competition would need to be tackled. Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney of the US Department of Justice stated before Congress that "a significant intersection between antitrust and intellectual property is the application of the antitrust laws to standard-setting organizations" and that she hopes to bring further clarity to this increasingly important aspect."

Click here to read the Reuters article.

Click here to read Neelie Kroes', European Commissioner for Competition Policy, Opening remarks at press conference Brussels, 9th December 2009.