A California-based company filed suit Monday against Barnes and Noble, accusing the retailer of stealing its ideas and using them for the Nook e-reader.

Barnes and Noble copied features found in Spring Design's Alex e-reader and used them in its Nook e-reader, according to Spring Design. The company is accusing Barnes and Noble of misappropriating trade secrets and violating a non-disclosure agreement.

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

Barnes and Noble unveiled its e-book reader, the Nook, on October 21. The device, which will retail for $259, is expected to debut at the end of November. It has a color, touch-sensitive display for navigation, allows for wireless downloads via AT&T's 3G network or Wi-Fi, and runs a variation of the Android platform.

Spring Design claims that it first started filing patents for its Alex e-book reader in 2006. The device is a dual-screen, Android-based reader. It includes Internet browsing and a touch screen. According to a press release on the Spring Design Web site, it was announced on October 19.

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