• eweek, Tuesday, November 3, 2009 3:50 PM

It looks like Amazon and its Kindle e-reader can count on monopolizing the digital book market for at least a little while longer. IT startup Spring Design is claiming that Barnes & Noble's forthcoming e-reader Nook infringes on its own Alex e-reader -- which it showed to the bookseller prior to its official debut. Both devices boast a dual-screen form-factor, powered by Google Android. What's the difference between two e-reader models, which are being produced by separate companies?

Not much, according to Spring Design, which unveiled its Alex e-reader on Oct. 19. "Spring Design unfortunately had to take appropriate action to protect its intellectual property rights," said Eric Kmiec, Spring Design's vice president of sales and marketing. "We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market."

Read the whole story at eweek »