Appeal No. 2000-0379
Application No. 08/815,352
Hull further explains that in April 1994, WDC selected
Cirrus as the vendor to develop for WDC a custom read channel
chip to comply with the WDC Performance Specification; that
Hull was WDC's Program Manager responsible for disclosing WDC
technical information relating to the read channel chip to
employees of Cirrus, including two of the inventors in the
Dudley patent, i.e., Richard T. Behrens and Christopher P.
Zook; that the technical information Hull disclosed to Cirrus
personnel, including Behrens, in April 1994 did not include
the Cloke Criterion or any proposed implementation for
complying with the WDC robust sync mark detection
specification; and that the WDC Performance Specification
included a note stating that "WDC has a possible
implementation of this feature, but we are open to suggestions
from the vendor." Id. at ¶¶ 6-7.
Hull also states that in May 1994, he visited Cirrus at
its Colorado facilities to discuss various development matters
concerning the read channel chip; that during this visit
Behrens, on behalf of Cirrus, disclosed to Hull proposed
implementing structure for elements of the read channel chip,
including the structure of the chip for sync mark pattern
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