Should You Care If Rambus Beats NVIDIA?

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NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) must be getting used to the courtroom by now. Unfortunately, it's not an entirely pleasant experience.

The graphics-chip specialist was just handed its hat by Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS) in a patent infringement decision by the International Trade Commission. During a 60-day presidential review period, NVIDIA can continue to sell and ship its chips anywhere, but those very fundamental actions will then supposedly become illegal. NVIDIA will appeal the decision, of course, while Rambus gloats amid a racing share price.

There will be a full-on license agreement in the end, but then there are years of back-paid damages to worry about for NVIDIA. The company promises to shield customers including Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) from product shortages, and Rambus should be able to use this partial victory as ammunition when discussing royalty rates with NVIDIA, memory maker Micron Technologies (NYSE: MU), and other potential clients.