Why Rambus Shares Soared

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Rambus (NAS: RMBS) have soared today by as much as 24% after the company announced a favorable court ruling.

So what: Rambus' case against rival SK Hynix dates back over a decade, and was originally filed in August 2000. Judge Ronald Whyte found that the Rambus patents in question were valid and that SK Hynix had indeed infringed, entitling Rambus to royalty payments for past infringement.

Now what: Because Rambus was found guilty of "willfully" destroying documents, its punishment will simply be lower royalties. Whyte said that Rambus should have anticipated litigation and should have retained the documents, but said the company didn't "deliberately" destroy any that it thought would help Hynix. Rambus said the ruling doesn't give Hynix a license going forward, but hopes to settle the dispute "completely."

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The article Why Rambus Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.

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