Rambus shares up as investors await Nvidia ruling

* Stock up 3.3 pct after strong morning rally

* Investors cautious on ITC outcome

LOS ANGELES, July 26 (Reuters) - Shares of memory chip designer Rambus Inc (RMBS.O) gained as much as 8.3 percent on Monday as investors awaited a final ruling from a U.S. trade panel on whether Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) violated its patents.

The International Trade Commission, which hears infringement cases on imported goods, found Nvidia to be in violation of three Rambus patents in May. The agency is set to make a final decision as early as Monday morning. [ID:nN20244508]

The commission's Office of Unfair Import Investigations was set to recommend that the ITC order an import ban for chips using Rambus' technology, according to a document obtained by Reuters in June. [ID:nN11129486]

But in the same documents, the office also advised that the commission give full weight to Nvidia's argument it did not violate patents because of a licensing agreement that Rambus had made with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS).

Capstone Investment's Jeff Schreiner said investors were nonetheless expecting a final ruling -- when it comes -- to either "be in line with or even an improvement" on the earlier decision, but were wary of another possible delay in a ruling that has been put off repeatedly.

"Investors have become disenchanted with Rambus because of the delays," Schreiner said.

The commission is a popular venue for patent litigation because it can bar the imports of products made with infringing technology from the United States.

Rambus' shares hit a high of $20.57 in morning trading before settling back on the Nasdaq, and were up 3.3 percent at $19.62 in late morning. Nvidia stock was up 1 percent at $10.46 after slipping holding steady at $10.385 after slipping 1.8 percent earlier in the day. (Reporting by Edwin Chan, editing by Matthew Lewis)