Administrative Law Judge Dismisses FTC Complaint Against Rambus

Chief Administrative Law Judge Stephen J. McGuire today issued his initial decision and order in the matter of Rambus, Inc. The order states "Accordingly, Complaint Counsel having failed to sustain its burden of establishing liability for the violations alleged, the Complaint is Dismissed." That order is posted at www.ftc.gov The judge's initial decision contains in camera material which must be redacted before it is publicly released. Release of the public version of that decision is expected early next week.

In June, 2002 the Federal Trade Commission charged Rambus, Inc., based in Los Altos, California, with violating federal antitrust laws by engaging in a pattern of anticompetitive acts related to industry-wide standard-setting. The FTC sought an administrative trial to litigate the charges.

The Judge's initial decision is subject to review by the full Commission, either on its own motion or at the request of either party. The initial decision will become the decision of the Commission 30 days after it is served on the parties or 30 days after the filing of a timely notice of appeal (whichever is later), unless: (1) a party filing a notice of appeal perfects an appeal by the timely filing of an appeal brief, or (2) the Commission takes certain other actions detailed in its Rules.

Copies of the Order are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Copies of the decision will be posted to the site when the public version becomes available.