Wal-Mart Sues Bookseller Amazon.com

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued Amazon.com on Friday, alleging the Internet bookseller that wants to be the discount superstore of cyberspace is stealing trade secrets.

Wal-Mart asked the court to prevent the Seattle-based Amazon.com and affiliates Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Drugstore.com. from trying to duplicate proprietary technology.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company claims Amazon.com recruited its former associates and targeted its vendors to learn more about Wal-Mart’s information database, which analysts say is second in size only to the U.S. government. It includes data on sales, inventory and consumer buying habits.

“Our information and logistics systems are world renowned and a key factor in our success,” said Robert Rhodes, Wal-Mart senior vice president.

Amazon.com spokesman Bill Curry said his company is not interested in getting trade secrets.

“We’re interested in hiring the brightest, hardest-working and most talented people, wherever they might be,” he said.

But mimicking Wal-Mart could help Amazon.com expand from its core base of books into other areas of online retailing, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc. in San Jose.

“The bottom line is, they are trying to be the Wal-Mart of cyberspace,” he said. “Amazon is very smart without pulling the Wal-Mart guys in to help them. But there is no question that they can speed up their process of making themselves into the premier site in cyberspace if they have additional experience working with them.”