Cipher Data Products of San Diego has...

Cipher Data Products of San Diego has filed a motion in federal court for a preliminary injunction against rival tape drive manufacturer Archive Corp. of Costa Mesa, an outgrowth of a continuing patent battle, Archive said in a statement Tuesday. If approved, the motion would preclude Archive from selling a model of 5-inch tape drives until the patent dispute is settled in court. A trial date has been tentatively set for May, 1989. Cipher Data and Archive officials were unavailable for comment late Tuesday afternoon. The dispute centers around loading technology that enables tape cassettes to be inserted sideways into the tape drives. Cipher has said that its claim to the technology is covered in patents awarded the company in 1986.