Technology Corner: Dating of Electronic Hardware for Prior Art Investigations

In many legal matters, specifically patent litigation, determining and authenticating the date of computer hardware or other electronic products or components is often key to establishing the item as legitimate evidence of prior art. Such evidence can be used to buttress claims of technologies available or of events transpiring by or at a particular date. In 1945, the Electronics Industry Association published a standard, EIA 476-A, standardized in the reference Source and Date Code Marking (Electronic Industries Association, 1988). (see PDF for full tech corner)