Barnes & Noble sued by eReader maker Spring Design

* Barnes & Noble Nook copied dual screen design, suit says

* Claims bookseller misappropriated trade secrets

By Alexandria Sage

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Spring Design, a maker of electronic readers, is suing Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N), claiming that the bookseller's newly launched Nook reader illegally copied its dual-screen design after the two discussed a possible partnership.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, Spring Design said it had shared the design of its Alex eReader with Barnes & Noble under protection of a nondisclosure agreement, hoping to strike a deal on bringing a device to market.

Barnes & Noble praised Alex's features but did not say it intended to use them until it publicly unveiled its Nook eReader last month, according to Spring Design [ID:nN20319058].

Spring Design said it first filed patents for its Alex reader, which features a dual screen and runs on Google Inc's (GOOG.O) Android operating system, in 2006. The Nook also runs on Android and aims to compete with Amazon.com's market-leading (AMZN.O) Kindle.

"We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market," said Spring Design's vice president of sales and marketing, Eric Kmiec, in a statement.

Spring "has been working with major book stores, newspapers, and publishers over the last two years to educate them about the capabilities and advantages of the interactive dual-screen navigation design," according to the complaint.

Barnes & Noble did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. Shares in the company were flat at $16.65.

The case is Spring Design Inc v. Barnesandnoble.com LLC, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 09-05185. (Editing by Steve Orlofsky)