Discovery Files Patent Suit Against Amazon Over Kindle

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2009 - 12:26pm.

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications (NASD: DISCA), the owner of cable TV networks including Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, announced on Tuesday that it has filed a patent infringement suit against Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) over its Kindle e-book reader device.

Discovery alleges that the Kindle and Kindle 2 violate its patent describing an "electronic book security and copyright protection system."

The company said that founder John S. Hendricks was a "significant player in the development of digital content and delivery services in the 1990's," and that his work "included inventions of a secure, encrypted system for the selection, transmission and sale of electronic books."

"The Kindle and Kindle 2 are important and popular content delivery systems. We believe they infringe our intellectual property rights, and that we are entitled to fair compensation," said Discovery general counsel Joseph A. LaSala, Jr.

"Legal action is not something Discovery takes lightly. Our tradition as an inventive company has produced considerable intellectual property assets for our shareholders, and today's infringement litigation is part of our effort to protect and defend those assets."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/e11s5

http://snipurl.com/e11qd (AP)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13357532/Discovery-Communications-Complaint