Discovery Sues Amazon over Kindle

Although Amazon introduced the Kindle e-book reader in November 2007, it appears as if a similar patent was granted that same month to Discovery Communications.  That company, better known for its ownership of the Discovery Channel, filed a patent in 1999, with  most of the major features now incorporated in the Kindle.  As reported by Ars Technica, Discovery has now filed a suit against Amazon for patent infringement.

Discovery’s patent is called “Electronic book security and copyright protection system,” and the majority of the claims involve encrypting and delivering e-book contents.  But the patent contains over 170 clauses, most of them citing variations in which the encryption takes place at different points in the distribution.  The patent also explains that a patented book could be distributed over the Internet and on “a wireless telephone network.”  If that weren’t troubling enough for Amazon, the patent also covers most of Kindle’s content management system.

Discovery is not seeking an injunction with their lawsuit, but they are seeking “adequate [damages] to compensate Discovery for Amazon’s infringement.”  The suit also asks the court to impose a royalty agreement.

It is now for the court to decide if Amazon really did infringe on Discovery’s patents, or if these similarities are not guilty of infringement.  But Discovery has nine patents covering e-books in their portfolio, and it may be tough for Amazon to evade all of them.