UPDATE 1-U.S. trade commission loses bid for Rambus appeal

(Adds quotes from Rambus, FTC, other comment)

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission has lost a bid for a second appeals court hearing in its legal fight with computer chip maker Rambus Inc (RMBS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) over whether it made enough patent disclosures to a standard setting body, according to a court order.

In an order issued on Aug. 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit turned down the FTC's petition for an en banc hearing, which would involve a large panel of judges.

The same court overturned an FTC order on April 22 that said Rambus' failure to disclose patents it held violated antitrust law.

In February 2007, the FTC ordered Rambus to stop collecting some patent royalties, but soon amended that to allow the royalties to be collected but put into escrow.

The FTC order said Rambus failed to tell standard-setting organization JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Committee) about its patented technologies, while advocating those technologies as the new standard for computer chips.

Rambus General Counsel Tom Lavelle in a statement that the appeals court made the right call.

"We're pleased with the court's ruling," he said. "We have contended throughout this process (that) Rambus did nothing wrong during its JEDEC participation."

FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell said: "We're reviewing our options."

If the FTC does appeal, it would have only a slim chance of convincing the Supreme Court, said an antitrust lawyer, speaking privately.

"I think this is pretty much curtains for the FTC case," said the lawyer.

Dan Prywes, a partner with law firm Bryan Cave LLP, said he was unhappy about the ruling.

"The final outcome of the case is disappointing to those who care about candor in standard setting groups," he said.

Prywes indicated that Rambus was unpopular in the tech world.

"They have technology that's valuable to the industry. Once it becomes economic to the industry to shift elsewhere they will do so," he said.

Rambus and memory chipmakers have been at legal odds for years, suing and counter-suing each other, claiming patent infringement and fraud in failing to disclose patents to JEDEC.