Discovery May Launch Its Own E-book Reader

Discovery Communications, which operates such cable channels as Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, may be working on its own e-book reader, according to a U.S. patent application made public Thursday.

The diagrams included with Discovery's patent application, which was filed in February, depict a rectangular device with physical controls for user navigation. The device would be for reading e-books and "providing for e-commerce," and would be a direct competitor to the Amazon Kindle electronic book reader and the Sony Reader digital book reader.

The Silver Spring-based media company holds a patent on some security and copy protection features, and earlier this year sued Amazon for its alleged infringement of them with its Kindle and Kindle 2. According to the patent application, the Discovery e-book's user can view information about products and services, view an online electronic catalog, and receive samples of products available for purchase - all similar approaches used by Appe Inc.'s iTunes and Amazon's online store.

A call to the company Thursday afternoon was not immediately returned.