Pickholtz
Pickholtz v. Rainbow Technologies, Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Breyer, J.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This is a lawsuit for infringement of United States Patent No. 4,593,353 (the ’353) issued on June 3, 1986. The ’353 describes an apparatus for protecting against the unauthorized use of computer software. Plaintiff accuses defendants’ “keys,” also known as “dongles,” marketed under the brand name “Sentinel,” of infringing the ’353. Now before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.
BACKGROUND
The ’353 includes two claims. Claim 1 provides in its entirety:
Claim 2 describes in its entirety: “The software protection apparatus in claim 1 wherein said external memory device includes a floppy disc.”
In connection with the Claims Construction hearing the parties disputed, among other things, whether “computer” includes peripherals and other devices connected electronically to and communicating with the processing units. The Court concluded that “computer” as used in the claims of the ’358 does not include peripherals and construed “computer” to mean “the CPU and main memory on the CPU’s circuit board, which, taken together, form a part of a dedicated microcomputer system capable of executing instructions on data, and which exclude…