Barnes & Noble and Spring Design on Wednesday announced a settlement in a lawsuit over the companies' competing e-book readers, the Nook and the Alex.
Under the deal, Spring Design will grant Barnes & Noble a license for its patent and patent application portfolio. Other terms were not released.
"We are pleased to put this matter behind us. Nook Color and Nook, together with Spring Design's patents and patent applications, have become two of our most innovative and highly-sought after devices," Eugene V. DeFelice, vice president and general counsel at Barnes & Noble, said in a statement. "Barnes & Noble is pleased to add Spring Design's patents and patent applications as a complementary addition to our rapidly growing digital portfolio."
In November 2009, Spring Design filed suit against Barnes and Noble, accusing the retailer of stealing its ideas and using them for the Nook e-reader. Spring Design accused Barnes and Noble of misappropriating trade secrets and violating a non-disclosure agreement.
Barnes and Noble unveiled its e-book reader, the Nook, in October 2009. Spring Design said it first started filing patents for its Android-based Alex e-book reader in 2006. Executives from Spring Design and Barnes and Noble had many meetings throughout 2009 and Barnes and Noble signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the Alex e-reader, Spring Design said.
Barnes & Noble unveiled the Nook Color in October 2010. For more, see PCMag's full review and the slideshow below.