It seems that, of the many lawsuits sprouting left and right on the IT market, at least a few managed to get settled, in this case the one between a pair of e-book reader owners.
Lawsuits are definitely not a new occurrence on any market, especially not the IT industry.
In fact, they are fairly common and, ironically, many of them have a tendency to emerge during the winter holiday season, especially in December.
The lawsuit in this case, however, is a tiny bit older than that, having been started back in November, 2009.
Back then, Spring Design claimed that B&N had violated a non-disclosure agreement and performed misappropriation of trade secrets.
The two companies collaborated for a time and the former claimed the latter illegally used, in the making of the Nook, the dual-display technology it had developed.
Recently, Spring design had to
pull the plug on its Alex e-reader completely and it is unclear if any successor or replacement will be put together any time soon.
On the other hand, it
seems its legal efforts against its rival paid off, as the case will be dismissed in exchange for an undisclosed sum that B&N will pay the plaintiff in exchange for access to its complete patent and patent application portfolio.
"We are pleased to put this matter behind us," said Eugene V. DeFelice, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Barnes & Noble.
”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. Barnes & Noble is pleased to add Spring Design’s patents and patent applications as a complementary addition to our rapidly growing digital portfolio."
Since the license agreement is non-exclusive, Spring Design will be allowed to grant access to other companies, should the interest arise.
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