Spring Design lawsuit of Barnes & Noble approved

Spring Design's lawsuit against Barnes & Noble for allegedly copying its designs for an e-book reader was upheld by a US District Court Judge late on Monday. Barnes & Noble has now failed to win a dismissal and will have to face the complaints Spring Design is bringing to a judge, including breach of contract, unfair competition and misappropriating trade secrets.

The plaintiff alleged Barnes & Noble's Nook reader infringes on the design of its own dual-screen Alex e-book reader. Barnes & Noble reportedly copied design elements during joint design meetings and unveiled the Nook without either letting Spring Design know of its plans or paying royalties for the Nook's use.

Both readers are based on Android and share a dual display technique, where a color touchscreen sits below for navigation and an e-paper display is above where the content appears. The Alex is taller and so far has had only one version where Barnes & Noble has launched separate 3G, Wi-Fi and color Wi-Fi editions. [">via Reuters]

By Electronista Staff