IP Master Class: Patent and Standards-Setting Post-Rambus

Patents (both disclosing them and licensing terms) can have a profound impact on standards setting. On April 22, 2008, the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a decision of the Federal Trade Commission that held that Rambus, a leading developer of computer memory chips, had violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by intentionally failing to disclose its patents to the standard-setting organization. The Rambus decision has significant implications for antitrust claims, and Section 2 monopolization claims, based on the non-disclosure of intellectual property rights in the standard-setting process. This presentation will offer thoughts on how the Rambus decision may impact standard-setting activities.