Amazon Kindle dual-screen e-reader patent granted, Barnes & Noble Nook potentially in trouble
By Nilay Patel 
posted July 6th 2010 3:04PM
posted July 6th 2010 3:04PM
That's pretty sweeping -- it doesn't take much to look at the Nook and see that it has both an electronic ink display and a smaller LCD located next to it. Now, we don't know if Amazon has any plans to actually sue anyone over this patent yet, but we're guessing there's a flurry of legal activity happening at all the major e-reader manufacturers right now, and we're definitely curious to see what the fallout looks like -- remember, Barnes & Noble is already involved in a trade secret dispute over the Nook with Spring Design, which claims that B&N saw its Alex reader under NDA and then copied it for the Nook. That case isn't scheduled to wrap up before November, so there's a chance B&N and Spring Design could end up simultaneously fighting each other in one case while taking on Amazon as allies in another, which would be... messy. We'll see what happens -- while we've no doubt Barnes & Noble will put up a serious fight if it comes to that, we're curious to see if the shift away from e-reader development to general-use tablets hastens as the market contracts, margins shrink, and the cost of litigation becomes prohibitive. The ball's very definitely in Amazon's court now -- stay tuned.A handheld electronic device comprising: a housing; an electronic paper display disposed in the housing and having a first surface area; and a liquid crystal display (LCD) disposed in the housing proximate the electronic paper display, the LCD having a second surface area that is smaller than the first surface area of the electronic paper display.
[Thanks, Anand]
chirp.......
@okok only Apple Fanboys bought i
Pretty sure e-ink is short for electronic ink... or was that elephant ink? ahh the two mix me up sometimes.
@rutter9 Yeah and someone once told me that e-mail was short for 'electronic mail'...blew my mind.
@rmbrown09
I really don't see "general purpose tablets" replacing dedicated e-readers. If you want to curl up for a few hours with a good book, a general purpose device is going to provide more distractions, less battery life, and almost certainly a worse display.
@chispito -- "I really don't see "general purpose tablets" replacing dedicated e-readers."
Exactly. The two devices couldn't be more different.
One lets you surf the web, play movies and games, and maybe read books.
The other only reads books.
Buy whichever one suits you. But, as sad as this is, reading books is a niche task. People as a whole just don't enjoy the written word as much as they enjoy updating their Facebook status.
@rmbrown09 oh.... you and your legal posts, nilay!
@rmbrown09
This whole patent thing is a joke. Seriously, someone sue engadget because you came up with the concept of a website first. I'm going to patent "taking a shower" and "eating food with a fork" because then I'll be super rich in just a 24 hour period after I sue everybody.
@DaveBach I suppose that if you had an original ideal you wouldn't mind me stealing it and profiting from it then?
@silencets An ebook reader with 2 screens is an original design ?
Is slide to unlock on a touchscreen an original design or is it just a digital reproduction of the catch every laptop has had since the beginning of time.
Patents (especially software patents) are bullshit.
@fourthletter So, because you think some patents are bad, you make the sweeping conclusion that "Patents are bullshit"?
@Michael Scrip "Buy whichever one suits you." I think the OP didn't really mean, it's one or the other, he meant if you like e-readers you aren't going to do your reading on a tablet. It's more of, if you have an e-reader, you can still buy a tablet, or vice versa, but you aren't throwing out your e-reader because you just bought a shiney new tablet.
BTW, you can surf the web on e-ink e-readers, and the color versions will have games and videos but they wont be in the same class as a tablet.
Current patent law is a bunch of bullshit.
LCD was invented long time ago, E-ink has already invented in the past. Now Amazon patented placing LCD and E-ink next to each other.
What???
Can I patent placing a frank in direct proximity of a bun thus effectively patenting a hot dog?
What a joke...
As of late they've been pretty loose with awarding patents. I imagine this one would be ok oh if....
THERE WASNT ALREADY A DEVICE LIKE THIS ON THE MARKET!
hey, nobody reads books anyways.
@ceelee57 I hope you were being sarcastic, or you are sterile...
@Eli Haj So he is. - “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” - That was really being asked to be paraphrased.
So there are going to be a bunch of people suing each other now.
@Ninjakid4 Wait, Nevermind.
That's normal.
its still no courier :(
@IBneel :-(
@IBneel Lets hope it has something to do with MS and Amazon cross-licensing deal for each other's patents.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/02/22/microsoft.deal.may.hint.at.courier.plans/
This is why the patent system is broken. I don't see any reason why Amazon should be able to go against any device that is currently on the market.
@kidphat They filed for this one in 2006, well before any of this stuff was one the market. Patents don't get granted overnight.
@kidphat
It's ridiculous how broadly this patent is worded--IMO the patent office is indeed out of their mind to grant such a sweeping patent. Another argument for patent reform.
@Nilay Patel It is still pretty stupid that you can patent something like this. Patents seem to be either ridiculous vague or copying another one but using a different type of font on the application.
@Mike I don't think it is broad at all.
It's pretty specific about what the second screen does.
In fact Amazon gave up on it already.
@Ben64
This is stud. Being able to patent an idea and not putting it into use should be illegal. And patents on
@kidphat
I agree that patents like this are ridiculous. That's like saying a laptop could be patented as a portable computing device with a foldable screen and keyboard/mouse. Or how about a flip phone with two screens, one on the inside and the other on the outside?
@Mike
I believe it's easier to be granted a broad patent than to successfully sue someone for infringing on such a patent. And based on the direction that Amazon has gone with the Kindle, it doesn't seem like they would be prosecuting on this, or at least it doesn't seem like they would win.
@DefPoet
The Kindle 1 uses an LCD screen for navigation. It is (was) in use.
@DefPoet So only people who can afford to mass produce their ideas should be granted patents that cover them?
@Nilay Patel: My main issue here is discoverability (not a word). How can you claim infringement (willful), if there is no existing patents. At the very least, patent applications should be mandatory. Call me naive but I believe people should know what they are getting themselves into.
@kidphat Patent applications are made public well before the patent issues.
@kidphat
What I don't understand is how can Amazon sue over someone using an idea for which a patent was SECRET?
This is Engadget's idea, I guess? While it's a possibility I sure think it wouldn't be smart of Amazon to go near this!
I'll be interested in the Alex/Nook case though. Several high-level meetings were involved.
The nook still has a huge advantage over this thing...
@aliendude5300
Like what?
@aliendude5300 Wow, I'd like to hear you explain how. My wife and I have them both and I never pull the Nook out. It's just too clunky and big. Despite all it's faults (e-ink still mostly sucks) the Kindle2 is the most pleasant, usable e-reader on the market (including the iPad).
@aamith
how is it too big and chunky both the kindle2 and the nook have similar profiles
@aamith I disagree with you there sir. I've had an e-reader longer than the vast majority of you newbies, starting with the original batch of PRS-505's, and my father has a Kindle 2 which I borrowed from time to time. I just gave my Sony to my brother and purchased a Nook last week.
It is more or less identical in function to the Kindle 2 but with better aesthetics and form factor. I think it's main screen is slightly larger too, but I'm not sure. I certainly would not trade it for the Kindle 2.
So how is it legal to file a patent that nobody knows about and then, 4 years later when it's approved, sue a bunch of people that made the product you filed a patent for (that they didn't know about)?
@akugyaku
I'm not familiar with the system, but maybe here are ways of finding out that there was a patent filed before its granted. Meaning Barnes and Noble should have did some research.
But Thats just a guess.
@akugyaku
Exactly, a patent should be announced when applied for rather than kept quiet.
@akugyaku Legal != Fair
@akugyaku Where do you gather that nobody knew (or could have known) about this patent application during the 4 years between filing and issuance?
@JLPicard
You = child
@Spaceman Spiff
"@akugyaku Where do you gather that nobody knew (or could have known) about this patent application during the 4 years between filing and issuance?"
It seems obvious you didn't actually read the article.
This should answer your question.
"What's more, Amazon agreed not to file for any corresponding foreign patents during the four-year approval process and thus wasn't required to publish the patent application -- meaning this is likely a complete surprise to the entire industry."
Soo they gonna use a AMOLED screen?
@raidor That's what I was gonna say. Shouldn't that solve the problem?
This doesn't mean that Amazon is suing anyone. These days, companies pick up patents just to protect themselves. The patent system is nice in theory, but is completely broken. It's suppressing innovation, rather than encouraging it.
Its most likely going to look like a normal book ( aka. courier) doubt they would use an LCD...unless they wanted to be a bigger iPad competitor