Barnes and Nobles’ calls for the Spring Design lawsuit that claims the retailer stole their designs to use in the NOOK E-Reader have been denied, leaving the case to continue. In the Spring Design lawsuit it makes claims of misappropriated trade secrets, breach of contract and unfair competition. The lawsuit alleges that the Retailer stole ideas from their Alex E-Reader during a time of co-development in 2009. A judge deciding there was “significant factual dispute” over whether the NOOK’s design was influenced by the ideas shared under NDA. The Alex came into the market in April 2010 with a price tag of $299 has yet to see the same success as the NOOK which launched in October 2009.

The companies originally discussed a potential partnership where Spring Design would be primarily responsible for the hardware design while Barnes and Noble would provide the ebookstore and marketing power. When the discussions broke down Barnes and Noble decide to go it alone and launch the NOOK in ’09. Spring Desing attempted to get an injunction against sales, but it was denied and as of now neither company is making comments on the suit. Do you think Barnes and Nobles stole the idea or are they just being targeted because they have a more successful product?

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[Source: Crunchgear]

Authors: V_Geek

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