This one should get interesting.
Spring Design, which recently announced their dual-screened and Google Android powered e-reader called Alex, has filed a lawsuit against Barnes and Noble which recently announced their dual-screened and Google Android powered e-reader called Nook.
Look funny?
While there are not many details out right now, what we do know is this via Business Wire:
Spring Design today filed a lawsuit to protect its Alex™ e-book intellectual property. The lawsuit asserts Barnes & Noble misappropriated trade secrets and violated the parties’ non-disclosure agreement when it copied Alex’ features into its recently announced Nook e-book.
Apparently, Spring Design showed Barnes and Noble the e-reader and Barnes and Noble went ahead and released their own. They go on to say:
Spring Design first developed and began filing patents on its Alex e-book, an innovative dual screen, Android-based e-book back in 2006. Since the beginning of 2009 Spring and Barnes & Noble worked within a non-disclosure agreement, including many meetings, emails and conference calls with executives ranging up to the president of Barnes and Noble.com, discussing confidential information regarding the features, functionality and capabilities of Alex. Throughout, Barnes & Noble’s marketing and technical executives extolled Alex’s “innovative” features, never mentioning their use of those features until the public disclosure of the Nook.
So, if they are correct, Barnes and Noble stole the Alex and made it the Nook. But hold on one second. Engadget brings up a good point in that the e-readers work differently. Right now, this is a spider web of complexities and unknowns and there probably will be a lot of lawyer talk and finger pointing before the day is done, so if you were waiting for the Nook, make sure you keep up with this story.
Something just, doesn't seem right here.
Anyway, the good news out of this is that they both really do look good, in a dreary e-reader world.
For more info, contact Adam: admillios@gmail.com
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