Charles Babbage Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Considered by some to be a "father of the computer", Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in Babbage's analytical engine. His varied work in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his century. Parts of Babbage's incomplete
Data General Corp. v. Digital Computer Controls, Inc. permission of Data General Corp. Digital Computer Controls then used the design drawings to create the D-116 minicomputer, which the court determined was "substantially identical in design" to the Nova 1200. Data General Corporation requested a preliminary injunction barring Digital Computer Controls from selling the D-116 based primarily on a claim of trade secret misappropriation. Digital Computer Controls consequently moved for summary judgment, claiming that Data General Corporation had not adequately protected the secrecy of its proprietary information. The court found that the adequacy of secrecy precautions was not a matter of law and must be determined at trial, thus