Patent ID: 7007145

Claim:
A control apparatus for controlling access to a memory in an integrated circuit for an electronic module, having: a memory organized into a plurality of memory areas each containing data relating to the module; a password register connected to said memory and configured to contain at least one password for a manufacturer of the module and at least one password for a user; and an access controller connected to at least one of said memory and said password register, said access controller stipulating for at least one of said memory areas an extent to which said at least one memory area is at least one of readable and writeable, said at least one memory area having at least one stipulatable characteristic selected from the group consisting of; said at least one memory area being readable when said password for the manufacturer is input; said at least one memory area being readable when said password for the user is input; said at least one memory area being readable without a password; said at least one memory area being writeable when said password for the manufacturer is input; said at least one memory area being writeable when said password for the user is input; and said at least one memory area being writeable without a password.