Page:MGE UPS Systems Inc. v. GE Consumer and Industrial Inc. (5th Cir., 20 July 2010).djvu/2

No. 08-10521 alternative, whether the district court erred in dismissing GE/PMI’s Rule 50(b) motion because the $4.6 million jury award was not a reasonable calculation of damages; (2) whether MGE impermissibly double recovered damages; (3) whether the parties had a tolling agreement in place that permitted MGE to recover damages prior to December 17, 2001; and (4) whether the district court erred in granting MGE injunctive relief against GE/PMI.

I

Uninterruptible power supply (“UPS”) machines are used during periods of power outages to provide power to critical operating systems. MGE manufactures several lines of UPS machines, some of which require the use of MGE’s copyrighted software programs Pacret and Muguet during servicing. This software fixes calibration problems more quickly than traditional manual servicing techniques. Without the software, a service technician can still partially service an MGE UPS machine, but a number of critical procedures (including recalibration and adjustment of voltage levels) can only be performed through use of the software, which works only on MGE manufactured devices.

The software requires connection of an external hardware security key (called a “”) to the laptop serial port. Each dongle has an expiration date, a maximum number of uses, and a unique password. When the software is activated, it searches for a properly programmed dongle before it will fully launch. Once launched, the software will go through a second series of protocol exchanges with the data located on the UPS machine’s microprocessors to confirm that MGE software is communicating with MGE hardware. If the protocol exchange is successful, MGE’s software proceeds to collect system status information for the technician.

Years after MGE introduced its security technology, a number of software hackers published information on the internet disclosing general instructions on how to defeat the external security features of a hardware key. Once the 2