J'ACCUSE! RAMBUS ACCUSED OF DESTROYING EVIDENCE IN DRAM RE-TRIAL: John Desmarais, who represents German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG in a retrial of a patent infringement case initiated by Rambus before U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, Virginia, claimed that Rambus Inc. destroyed documents knowing that competitors would need them to defend against the company's patent infringement lawsuits. Desmarais presented video-taped witness testimony that he said supports Infineon's defense.

Earlier this month the judge said he would rule on Infineon's motion to dismiss Rambus's lawsuit only after he heard testimony from witnesses about Infineon's "serious charges'' that Rambus purposely destroyed documents and then made misrepresentations in court to ensure that chip companies couldn't challenge its patents.

In today's hearing, the first phase of the retrial, Desmarais showed what he said was conflicting testimony from Rambus executives. In court documents he has said the contradictions show how Rambus attempted to build a false record to thwart the defense of companies that it sued for patent infringement.