Hynix Semiconductor, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc., No. 09-1299 (Fed. Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseIn litigation concerning patents covering various aspects of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) to minimize the bottleneck in the ability of computers to process data through memory and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), the other type of new memory technology, the district court upheld the defendant's patents and found infringement. In parallel litigation, the district court had concluded that the defendant had spoliated documents in contravention of a duty to preserve because litigation was reasonably foreseeable prior to the defendant's second document shred day; in that case, the Federal Circuit upheld the determination of spoliation, but remanded with respect to the sanction. In this case, the Federal Circuit remanded for reconsideration of the spoliation issue, but affirmed the court's construction of the term "bus" and its determinations that the defendant had not waived its right to litigate and concerning adequacy of written description and obviousness. Applying the proper standard compels a finding that the litigation was reasonably foreseeable. The destruction of the documents could reasonably constitute a crime, so piercing the attorney-client privilege, as in the parallel case, is appropriate.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on July 5, 2011.
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