J AG:Wl tJIOH: jb 

REF ID:A60531 

DXPARTMEHT OF THE NAVY 

OPFICi OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL 

'tt\SHINGTOH, D.C. 

16 December 1943 

Subj r llectrio Ciphering lie.chines - Pa.tent •itua.tion with regard the:r.to. 

Ref's (a) Cont. memo trom Captain Sattord to Commander l"itzgerald.,, 

Op-20-S-S, dated ll November 1943. 

!

o DaJlll Patent #l,S021J76 dated 22 Jul¥ 1924. (b! Hebem Pat.-it 11~861,857 dated 7 June 19.32. 

d Lemmon and Holt Patent #2,1161683 d&i.,d 10 May' 1938. 

• Moll Patent #2,116,731 dated io Ka7 1938. 

(t Kebern Patont #1,510,,441 dated JO septe.zaber 1924. 

(g) Hebern Patent #l,683,072 dated 4 89pt•ber 1928. 

l. 1'hia memorandum. is baaed upon a general consideration o! re!•l'6ncea 

(b) to (g), but detailed. ana:cyai• o! all claias baa not been made due to th• 

l.arge number thereat. 

~ :tt thould b• noted that Mt•1"4tnce (c) antedate• reference (b) b7 

tisht ,..ar•, Jul.T 1924 to June 1932, rather than b7 two 1110ntha. 'l'he 

aottoluaion uprea•ed in paragraph 4 ot Nterence (a) "1tarding the dittfl'•nc• betw.•n the di•oloturea or ret•rencea {b) and (c) ia conaidered to 

bo c;;orrec.t, u ia al•o paragraph 5 ot reterence (a). 

). :rt i• believ.d the b?'Qad term "coding and decoding maohin•" ot ntterenc• (b) doe• not neceHarU;r hsplj" two machines, aince the !OK can be 

ueed tor both t,-pea o! operation. However, claiaa 46, 47, and 48 ot thia ~tent laUa~ be read in U>.e lltiht ot th• de•cription th•'reot~ wherein it ia 

ol.eal" that the "meant tor connecting the •pacer bar to a coding qmbol 

jit)..e9t9l"tt ,.n claiJa 46 ia __ the hook 4651 1'i&. 121 of which theN ie no 

eq_UlVal.ent in the fi. '.the "ad:Justabie aiana tor conneotin«" (olaia 47) 

ia the aam.e. Se• line a 23 to ~ ~ pq• 18. '!be "means adapt.9d to 1naapIC1 t.tett ~ ql.aia 48 111 th•, aplit coll~ ~61:1 C:!~_ar~~ in lines Zl to 40~ 

page.18.. ~·" clai•s are deoUd not to be uun.ngeo. b,r the 10¥. 

4. Ola~ 61 ot re~•Nnce (b). It appears that the eonv~raion of a apac•-

,til.lj,pg. syabol in tho coded mea•aa•·into a epace 1n the decoded text 1• 

•• ,tull,- "automation in the ICJ( aa in th• Hebern .maohiM. In the tormer 

W• tuitot.lon i• g_owrned hT the ntting ot the "controller" or cryptographic oircUlt awltch. In tho latter it depend• upon •etting the reveraing ewitCh 

-lS'6 oo that, in the deccxle po11ition, the hook 529 (F1g6 21) ia po111t1oned. to ~'"the collar 490a on the core 4S81 or the Z aoleno1d~ or upon the !ixing 

ot the collar 561 upon the cor9 or the toleno1d corraaponding to the key 

which the hook 465 on apac• ba.r 459 ia eet to •ngap, it 80lll8 letter other 

than Z .1a uaed to rill a apace between word• when coding. The Ne:q machine a 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 09-12-2013 pursuantto E .0. 1352a 

COPI 

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REF ID:A60531 

,-

I do print both coded and decoded 11e1:1&191. !he wording of cld.a 61 tbcwa 

that it ia not llaited to the a:l.multaneoua printing of both. In the Hebem 

machin• the operation of the 11pace bar 1• nec•••al7 to print a cbaraot.er 

1natead. of a apace 1rhlle coding. ~he prevention ot operation or a t)'P9 

t_ 

L 

bar 'When decoding reaulta in autoJm:~tic word spacing in Debem. 

5. It. ia believed that. old.a 61 o~~ reference (b) :reads on the ECK. Howaver, 

it haa bem held in We•Unghouae v .. Boyden Power Brake Compaiv11 170 U.S. 

S,7, 568 and Ineandeacent Lamp Patont, 1.59 U.S. 465,476, that. while a ol.a1a 

ma7 read 1n te:rma upon an alleged .infringing device there 11 in tact no 1ntril'tgemftnt unless th• alleged 1ntringing dev.loe ie 1111b11tant1alq t.he eame 

aa th• patented device in both con11truotion and mode ot tunotioniJJ&. It 

1• poa1ibl• that this rule ot law ilfOuld be a auttioient. defense againat 

claia 61 ot 1'9ferenc• (b). 

6. Paragrap~a 7 (a), (b), and (c), ot reference (a) all designate th• 

.... conatruction# although 1n ditferent phraaeologya, eince there i• 

onlJ' one cam protile or c .. •an• ihown in reference (b), 1.e., 2671 • 

al.aims 5.3, S4, ml S5, or reterenc• (b) read upon FiguN 8 of reference 

(g).. 'see lln•• '18 to 128, pap 2, ot reference (b). These 01.aim.1 ar9 

al•o ve17 aind.lar in aub.tance to claims ;1 an:1 S2 ot reference (g). 

Claiu 9 to 11 and 14 or ref'erenc• (b) appear to read olearl.7 on the CCK, 

a• do al•o claiu wch u 38, 55, '6• and 57 ot reference (g). 

'J, . !he chfu of :rete"re~cea. (b j iind (g), -in mmV- C&BeB 1 f"lia.d &B 11911 on 

ti• -4~~· ~f one patent- aa on the other., See olaia 38 of the .former mi Ol.Aa? ot the l&tt.r. ~ clauie ot these two patents are undoubtedJ¥ 

wU :tor c!oubl• patent.~ • 

.1.. Reterenc~. (d) ~ t~) ... ch ir1~V~ two. ~ewriter~, the tiprilar7 am ~ond.a17 machine•." rteterenc• (J•) ahow• prime.17 and aecond&.17 mchinea. 

It &'tfl' cl.aw of referenc•• (d) arid ( •) -..re construed broadq enough to 

~ the ICll the7 would moat probabl.7 read upon the prior Hebern patents al.ilo, aid henc• be invalid. '\ ~ _ I o I • • "'"'.I!' .. t f I,.. \, ., 1 • 1 • 

9. Yletere'-nce (b) d1acioe•• aid cla1J11 met.erwi.'9 operat.ion ot ~. coding *-••1~, 1.e:, a ••cond wheel •tep11 once tor each revolut.ion ot a tii-•t. wheel, 

a third at9pa once tor each revolution of the ••cond, etc. However, th1• 

ia not ao ettective a.a auch opera11iion of the conti-ol wheele, •ince it impart• 

a regularit7 ot eequence in the rc>tation ot the coding wheels that makea 

the coded mesaag• lea• complex an«! z:io:re readil7 broken than 1a a measaa• 

coded on the ECK JikII. Some cla!Ju ot reference (1) appear to cover11 in this 

re•pttct, the CCX.. (Jee, tor example, olaima 53, 5S, '6 and 57. - l.O. tie aemoi-ardua 1• not intenied to be exhaustive, but merel.J' to point 

out *>Ile general a1peota ot the •11bjeot patent aituation. A critical •tud7 

of the claims or the patent• imolTed, in the light o:r the several diecloaur••~ 

ha• not been undertaken in Tin or the atatement in reterenae (a) that an 

opinion 1117 be requested later. l:t i• believed that a number ot alaiae ot 

-2- COPY 

CONFIDENTIAL 
r ................... ~•::RE~F~--~f~b~:~A~b~0-~5~3~1~----:~:---~----:-:---......... .. ..... -· .... . 

.. 

the Hobern patent• will be tounCL to be intringed b;:r the JtJM or the CCII, 

it woh claims are valid. It. 1o to b• noted tha.t reference (f) upired 

in 1941. 

Enc. l 

Enc. (A) of re!. (a) &1¥1 

Q9pi•a ot r.t•. (t} &rJd {g). 

\ . 

• I ' ' I 'I 

.... ,_ 

J" J. FITZGERAU> Commard•r~ u.s.H. (Ret.) 

Ohie.t of Diviaion IV (Patents) 

aoPr