We always knew that Spring Design was working closely to Barnes & Noble at an e-book reader. However, two eReaders surfaced which we said that are very similar. It seems like Spring Design has a problem with that so they sued B&N for trading secrets. First it came Alex, Spring Design’s Android-based e-book reader , and then it came Nook, B&N’s eReader. Both feature two dual E-Ink capacitive touchscreens and Google’s Android, however, the functionalities of the screens are somewhat different.

Allegedly, Spring Design has been working at an Android dual-screen e-book reader since 2006 and they have the documents which show the patents that the company filed back then. However, the “history” changed when Spring Design decided to involve Barnes & Noble into the business. It seems like there were lots of meetings, emails exchanging between officials, conference calls, all of them under non-disclosure agreement protection.

The Barnes & Noble Nook eReader is just the result of breaking that NDA between B&N and Spring Design. From where we look, all we can say is that Spring Design has all the right to file suit against Barnes & Noble even if Alex has a browser, while Nook doesn’t have one. This is not all as there are other differences between both companies, however, I think it’s right to wait for Barnes & Noble to issue an official response in the following hours.

Spring Design Alex vs Barnes & Noble Nook

via BusinessWire