Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble: all the nooks and crannies
By Nilay Patel 
posted November 3rd 2009 6:35PM
posted November 3rd 2009 6:35PM
Here's where it gets tricky, though -- the NDA contains pretty standard language specifically allowing both B&N and Spring Design to walk away from each other and develop competing products, so long as they don't use any of the confidential information they learned under NDA. Without knowing exactly what Spring Design showed to B&N and how much of that influenced or is included in the Nook (which Barnes & Noble currently won't let anyone touch), we can't say much about how this one's going to play out, but for right now we're looking at a huge corporation bringing out an Android-based ebook reader with dual electronic paper and touchscreen LCD displays just months after being shown the same concept by a three-year-old startup, and that's not exactly a warm and fuzzy bedtime story. We'll see what happens next -- Barnes & Noble, you have anything to say?
The screens serve very different purposes. I took a look at the Alex video on YouTube. Their screen is used to deliver content from the internet which is then "printed" onto the eink screen to be read. Really cool. But, very different from the function of the nook screen which seems to be basically to navigate the device/access your library.
The fact that they both have LCD touchscreens isn't exactly shocking and IMO does not mean that B&N stole the idea from Spring Designs. It's a no brainer to make the device look more sexy by adding an LCD color touchscreen (even if it serves no real purpose in the case of the nook- at least not yet).
You guys have caught the clause regarding the companies possibly evaluating other proposals or internal projects.
However, after reading the filing earlier on PACER, a couple interesting points occurred to me.
First is obviously the use of B&N's standard NDA template....a template that includes a choice of venue clause.
There's also a clause explicitly stating that any information exchanged under the NDA should not be construed to imply any sort of business relationship and in fact does not constitute a commitment or inducement to take it as such.
Also, in the complaint filed by Spring Design, they state that initial contact was in February, with powerpoint presentations occurring during the April - July time frame.
If you've glanced at the exhibits attached to the complaint, you'll have seen samples of the powerpoint slides included in the presentation made to B&N executives......Most striking, is that it appears the Alex DID steal it's initial design from the Nintendo DS. Not just two screens, but two screens attached in a clamshell device with a hinge separating the two screens? In other words, a large DS with an e-ink top display and a lower lcd touch screen.
I'm wondering exactly when the Alex design changed as there are no exhibits of powerpoint slides showing the Alex in it's most recent incarnation.
As it stands, from my perspective, Spring Design has an uphill battle in front of them. My take on it is they were excited, they had their first "big bite" since the company started showing the concept around and got ahead of themselves. From what I can deduce from the details in the filing, and the people at B&N they were talking to, it sounds like B&N were approaching this as a possible arrangement similar to what they have with iRex and Plastic Logic's Que.
Spring Design jumped the gun and thought it was going to be something more.
so now having two screens, on a device that you can read books on IP now?
can i get the dips on 3-5 screens?
if you look at the slides their design used to look alot like a DS doesn't it? the whole clam shell and all.
the only thing that might be IP of Alex should be the fact that they can have one screen capture the content and display it to the eink screen, not the fact you have two screens and one of the is touch screen and color.