Spring Design Suing Barnes & Noble for Stealing Trade Secrets in Nook

When the Alex ebook reader was announced by Spring Design the day before the rumored dual-screen ebook reader was supposed to be announced by Barnes & Noble, we thought they were one and the same. Both were said to have an e-ink screen with a smaller touchscreen interface below. They turned out to be two separate devices, but Spring Design can’t help but notice how closely the Barnes & Noble Nook resembles the Alex. That’s why they’re suing Barnes & Noble for stealing trade secrets.

Spring Design says the Nook looks and operates so much like the Alex because Spring Design had shown the Alex to Barnes & Noble before the Nook was ever developed and the two companies had been communicating about ereader designs for months under a non-disclosure agreement. If you were Spring Design, it certainly would seem suspicious when Barnes & Noble suddenly released a dual-screen ereader that runs on the Android operating system.

There are some significant differences that may work in Barnes & Noble’s favor. For instance, the Nook has a much simpler touchscreen interface that doesn’t contain content and doesn’t include a web browser. Still the similarities are striking. So far the lawsuit is in the early stages, so we’ll have to wait for more details as it progresses.

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