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Segments and Major Customers | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2012
Segment Reporting [Abstract] |
Business Segments and Major Customers | Segments and Major Customers Operating segments are based upon Rambus' internal organization structure, the manner in which its operations are managed, the criteria used by its Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM") to evaluate segment performance and availability of separate financial information regularly reviewed for resource allocation and performance assessment. Following the completion of the internal reorganization structure announced in the third quarter of 2012, in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company determined its CODM to be the Chief Executive Officer and determined its operating segments to be: (1) MID, which focuses on the design, development and licensing of technology that is related to memory and interfaces; (2) CRI, which focuses on the design, development and licensing of technologies for chip and system security and anti-counterfeiting; (3) LDT, which focuses on the design, development and licensing of technologies for lighting and displays; and (4) CTO, which is a centralized research and development and business incubation organization that consolidates early-stage investments, longer-term research activities and worldwide engineering, including MTD. For the year ended December 31, 2012, only MID and CTO were considered reportable segments as they met the quantitative thresholds for disclosure as reportable segments. The results of the remaining other operating segments were not material and were therefore combined and shown under “All Other”. The Company evaluates the performance of its segments based on segment operating income (loss), which is defined as customer licensing income ("CLI") minus segment operating expenses. Segment operating expenses are comprised of direct operating expenses and the allocation of certain engineering expenses. CLI is defined as total cash royalties received from its customers under its licensing agreements with them. Prior to the second quarter of 2011, the Company bifurcated royalty payments that it received from Samsung between revenue and gain from settlement, which was reflected as reducing operating expenses. The Company has combined revenue from its customers, including Samsung, and the gain from the Samsung settlement as customer licensing income to reflect the total amounts received from all of its customers for the periods presented. In addition, customer licensing income includes other patent royalties received but not recognized as revenue. In both the third quarter of 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2012, a receipt of a patent royalty payment from a customer was not recognized as revenue as not all revenue recognition criteria were met during the period. Additionally, since the third quarter of 2011, the Company has received patent royalty payments from certain patent license agreements assumed in the acquisition of CRI which were treated as favorable contracts. Cash received from these acquired favorable contracts reduced the favorable contract intangible asset on the Company's balance sheet. The Company has combined these cash royalty payments as CLI to reflect the total amounts received from its customers. Segment operating expenses do not include gain from settlement discussed above, marketing, general and administrative expenses and the allocation of certain expenses managed at the corporate level, such as stock-based compensation, amortization, and certain bonus and acquisition costs. The “Reconciling Items” category includes these unallocated marketing, general and administrative expenses as well as corporate level expenses. The presentation of the 2011 and 2010 segment data has been updated accordingly to conform with the 2012 segment operating income (loss) definition. The tables below present reported segment operating income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010:
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2012
| MID |  | CTO |  | All Other |  | Total
| (In thousands)
Revenue | $ | 215,047 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 19,004 |  |  | $ | 234,051 |
Gain from settlement | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |
Other patent royalties received | 7,500 |  |  | — |  |  | 5,165 |  |  | 12,665 |
Customer licensing income | $ | 222,547 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 24,169 |  |  | $ | 246,716 |
Segment operating expenses | 37,353 |  |  | 28,106 |  |  | 32,941 |  |  | 98,400 |
Segment operating income (loss) | $ | 185,194 |  |  | $ | (28,106 | ) |  | $ | (8,772 | ) |  | $ | 148,316 |
Reconciling items |  |  |  |  |  |  | (238,750 | )
Operating loss |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (90,434 | )
Interest and other expense, net |  |  |  |  |  |  | (27,451 | )
Loss before income taxes |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (117,885 | )
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2011
| MID |  | CTO |  | All Other |  | Total
| (In thousands)
Revenue | $ | 292,074 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 20,289 |  |  | $ | 312,363 |
Gain from settlement | 6,200 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 6,200 |
Other patent royalties received | (3,000 | ) |  | — |  |  | 2,250 |  |  | (750 | )
Customer licensing income | $ | 295,274 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 22,539 |  |  | $ | 317,813 |
Segment operating expenses | 45,670 |  |  | 17,771 |  |  | 20,631 |  |  | 84,072 |
Segment operating income (loss) | $ | 249,604 |  |  | $ | (17,771 | ) |  | $ | 1,908 |  |  | $ | 233,741 |
Reconciling items |  |  |  |  |  |  | (235,277 | )
Operating loss |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (1,536 | )
Interest and other expense, net |  |  |  |  |  |  | (24,265 | )
Loss before income taxes |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | (25,801 | )
| For the Year Ended December 31, 2010
| MID |  | CTO |  | All Other |  | Total
| (In thousands)
Revenue | $ | 323,038 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 352 |  |  | $ | 323,390 |
Gain from settlement | 126,800 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 126,800 |
Other patent royalties received | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |
Customer licensing income | $ | 449,838 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 352 |  |  | $ | 450,190 |
Segment operating expenses | 45,174 |  |  | 15,392 |  |  | 7,999 |  |  | 68,565 |
Segment operating income (loss) | $ | 404,664 |  |  | $ | (15,392 | ) |  | $ | (7,647 | ) |  | $ | 381,625 |
Reconciling items |  |  |  |  |  |  | (154,743 | )
Operating income |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 226,882 |
Interest and other expense, net |  |  |  |  |  |  | (18,838 | )
Income before income taxes |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 208,044 |
The Company’s CODM does not review information regarding assets on an operating segment basis. Additionally, the Company does not record intersegment revenue or expense. Revenue from the Company’s major customers representing 10% or more of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:
| Years Ended December 31,
| 2012 |  | 2011 |  | 2010
Customer A | 38 | % |  | 30 | % |  | 56 | %
Customer B | * |  |  | 11 | % |  | * |
Customer C | * |  |  | 10 | % |  | 15 | %
_________________________________________ * Customer accounted for less than 10% of total revenue in the period Revenue from customers in the geographic regions based on the location of customers' headquarters is as follows:
| Years Ended December 31,
| 2012 |  | 2011 |  | 2010
| (In thousands)
South Korea | $ | 88,971 |  |  | $ | 94,197 |  |  | $ | 181,865 |
USA | 63,398 |  |  | 103,367 |  |  | 23,528 |
Japan | 63,686 |  |  | 97,726 |  |  | 117,101 |
Canada | 7,759 |  |  | 14,750 |  |  | 592 |
Europe | 5,236 |  |  | 1,992 |  |  | 157 |
Other | 5,001 |  |  | 331 |  |  | 147 |
Total | $ | 234,051 |  |  | $ | 312,363 |  |  | $ | 323,390 |
At December 31, 2012, of the $86.9 million of total property, plant and equipment, approximately $85.8 million are located in the United States, $1.0 million are located in India and $0.1 million were located in other foreign locations. At December 31, 2011, of the $81.1 million of total property, plant and equipment, approximately $79.8 million are located in the United States, $1.2 million are located in India and $0.1 million were located in other foreign locations.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for reporting segments including data and tables. Reportable segments include those that meet any of the following quantitative thresholds a) it's reported revenue, including sales to external customers and intersegment sales or transfers is 10 percent or more of the combined revenue, internal and external, of all operating segments b) the absolute amount of its reported profit or loss is 10 percent or more of the greater, in absolute amount of 1) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or 2) the combined reported loss of all operating segments that did report a loss c) its assets are 10 percent or more of the combined assets of all operating segments. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 29 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8864-108599 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 30 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8906-108599 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 32 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8933-108599 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 35 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8984-108599 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8380-108599 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 10 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8538-108599 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 42 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e9054-108599 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8595-108599 Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 131 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 34 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8981-108599 Reference 11: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 33 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8971-108599 Reference 12: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 26 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8844-108599 Reference 13: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 31 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e8924-108599 Reference 14: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 40 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e9031-108599 Reference 15: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 280 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 41 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6534315&loc=d3e9038-108599 + Details
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