Microsoft has sued US bookseller Barnes & Noble over its Nook e-book reader that uses Google’s Android platform for breach of intellectual property (IP) rights.
In lawsuits filed in federal court in Seattle and with the International Trade Commission, Microsoft alleged that the e-book reader infringes many patents of the company.
Barnes & Noble is a book retailer in the US operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered in New York City.
The e-book reader developed by the company is based on the Android platform. The device was released in November 2009. In June 2010 Barnes & Noble launched a new Wi-Fi-only model of the reader.
Microsoft has alleged in the lawsuits that the Nook line of e-book readers infringe five Microsoft patents: while displaying retrieved images, downloaded status, editing documents and render annotations.
Microsft has also accused the makers of the devices, Foxconn International Holdings and Inventec, in the lawsuit.
Microsoft intellectual property and licensing deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said the Android platform infringes a number of Microsoft’s patents, and companies manufacturing and shipping Android devices must respect Microsoft’s intellectual property rights.
Gutierrez said, "We have tried for over a year to reach licensing agreements with Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec. Their refusals to take licenses leave us no choice but to bring legal action to defend our innovations."
Barnes and Noble declined to comment on the matter. Foxconn and Inventec have also not commented so far.
