Barnes & Noble’s new ebook reader, the nook, is widely considered a Kindle killer. (Full disclosure: I was once an employee of Barnes & Noble, but that has nothing to do with this post.) But a California-based company is suing Barnes & Noble, claiming the publishing and retail giant stole its ideas to make the nook. (Source)
This company is called Spring Design, and it alleges that it met with Barnes & Noble in February of this year to show the company a product they called “Alex.” This meeting occurred 5 days after a nondisclosure agreement was allegedly negotiated. And it is alleged, through the filings, that the features found in the nook were all things envisioned by Spring Design. So Spring is suing for “breaching the non-disclosure agreement, misappropriating trade secrets, and violating unfair competition laws.” In addition, Spring would like production of the nook to be ceased.
We’ll see.
