ACCO Brands USA LLC v. SecuComputer, Inc., Nos. 03 C 1820, 06 C 7102, 07 C 0591, 2008 WL 2566863 (N.D. Ill., Jun. 25, 2008) (Zagel, J.).

Judge Zagel construed the claims of plaintiff’s patents to security locks for portable electronics, like laptops. The Court held that all term, but one had ordinary meanings that were not altered by the intrinsic evidence. Of particular note, the Court held that “about” had an ordinary meaning of “approximately.” The Court denied one defendant’s effort to limit “about” to within machining tolerances of dimensions set forth in a preferred embodiment.