In Lawsuit, Odenton Company Calls Amazon 'Corporate Bully'

M-Edge, an Odenton-based company that makes accessories for electronic reading devices, has filed suit against Amazon.com, alleging the online retailer engaged in patent infringement and unfair competition.

In a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, M-Edge claimed Amazon—the maker of the top-selling Kindle e-reader—engaged in “unlawful corporate bullying” when it demanded increased commission rates and threatened to remove M-Edge products from its store.

The company also claims Amazon infringed on a patent when it began selling a lighted cover for the Kindle.

The suit was filed last month but amended on Dec. 22.

M-Edge makes accessories such as covers, sleeves and reading lights for e-reading devices, including the top-selling Amazon Kindle. The company said that, at times, 90 percent of its revenue has come from the Amazon.com store.

According to the lawsuit, M-Edge began selling its products on Amazon.com in 2008, with Amazon getting an 8 percent commission. The two companies entered into a “special partner” agreement the next year, which would give M-Edge advance information on new Kindle products. That arrangement resulted in another 7 percent commission to Amazon, according to the suit.

M-Edge claims it then signed a three-year contract with Amazon at those terms, with the deal to expire in 2012.

According to the lawsuit, M-Edge alleged that in January 2010, Amazon demanded that M-Edge begin paying a 25 percent commission, and threatened to remove M-Edge products from its stores if it did not agree to become a “direct seller” to Amazon.

M-Edge also claims that in February 2010, an Amazon executive asked the company to retroactively pay the difference between an 8 percent and 25 percent commission.

M-Edge also alleges that Amazon demanded a 10 percent cut of all M-Edge sales to other retail outlets.

In the lawsuit, M-Edge alleges that Amazon “has damaged and jeopardized M-Edge’s business by using fraud, deceit, trickery and unfair methods.”

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing company policy. M-Edge spokeswoman Devon Mish also declined to comment, except to say, “We believe in our intellectual property rights and will vigorously enforce them when we feel they are being infringed upon.”