While I'm no fan of Rambus, do most of you know how technology companies work? The smaller ones rarely make a complete product, they make minor enhancements to existing IP. Usually they get bought up, but often times bigger companies will simply use those enhancements without paying. This prohibits innovation... As much of it comes from from these smaller companies.
A good example (although not having anything to do with computers) is the guy who invented the intermittent wiper. He developed a small improvement in a large, complex machine. Should he have created a whole new car to implement this new technology? I'm going to say no... But it was a legitimate addition to existing IP (cars), and he deserved to be compensated for it.
Now Rambus is a bit unusual, as they do occasionally make physical products, but their main source of revenue is the research they do to create better RAM products... I think (as many others do) that they try to charge way to much for their IP, but to say they don't add anything or create anything is an ignorant statement.