Technology giant Sun Microsystems and chip designer Rambus are
being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission over
allegations that they illegally failed to disclose the existence of
their patents or pending patent applications when helping set
industry standards, according to a report by USA Today.10 Dec 2000
According to USA Today, the FTC is reviewing whether Sun failed to disclose patents when helping with an industry standard for computer memory modules. Rambus is alleged to have failed to disclose its patent application for a memory chip standard.
The last similar FTC action was in 1996, when it stopped Dell enforcing a patent for a method of data transfer. However, the case left open the question of how much patent disclosure is required by law when a company is assisting in setting industry standards.