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Judge Skeptical of Apple's 'Appstore' Trademark Claims

Wednesday June 22, 2011 3:21 pm PDT by Jordan Golson

A federal judge has hinted she will deny a motion from Apple asking the court to prevent Amazon.com from using the term "Appstore" for its Android app marketplace while a lawsuit over Amazon's use of the term continues. Apple initially sued Amazon this past March.

Bloomberg quoted U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton saying Apple had not demonstrated "real evidence of actual confusion" among customers trying to differentiate between Apple and Amazon's stores, and this was a "stumbling block for Apple." The judge continued, saying she was "troubled by the showing that you've made so far, but that's where you're likely not to prevail at this early juncture."

There was no indication from the judge how quickly she intends to rule on the matter.

[ 158 comments ]


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neiltc13
105 months ago

i dont know, there was another company that managed to trademark "windows" and "office"


And again, people just don't get it.

App Store sells apps. It is a store for applications, therefore it is a generic term. Just like hardware store couldn't be trademarked by a company that sold hardware.

If "Windows" was the name of a business selling windows (like you put into houses) then that too would be generic. There is (and was) nothing generic about calling a piece of computer software "Windows".

Likewise, Apple owns a trademark on the words "Mac" and "Macintosh" despite these being a common terms used for a raincoat. But because Apple isn't selling raincoats, the trademark is valid.

"Office" is a trademark owned by Microsoft which it applies to a suite of software. The software itself is not an office, therefore the trademark stands.
Rating: 19 Votes
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LucasG
105 months ago
Sounds fair, I think. When I hear App Store it could be any online app store. When I here iTunes Store I think of Apple's App Store.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Andy-V
105 months ago

This is absolutely worth fighting for. App Store should rightly belong to Apple in the context they use it. It's as valuable to them as the generic term Windows is to Microsoft. So I'm outraged by this news.


Not this again.

Microsoft calls their OS 'Windows'. 'Windows' is in no way a generic term for an operating system. Yes, within multiple OS's there are 'windows', but MS has no trademark on that. They are still called 'windows' in Mac OS.

This is generic in the sense that it seems a bit like trying to trademark 'Laptop store' or something. App is a shortening of 'application'. Maybe Apple were the first to shorten it like that, but it's become too widely used for them to TM it now.
Rating: 15 Votes
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dethmaShine
105 months ago
Yup!

I think Apple should give it up on that. Too generic man! :|
Rating: 13 Votes
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HiRez
105 months ago
Ouch, that's like being taken to the woodshed for lawyers I guess. I agree, just give it up. Some things are worth fighting for, this isn't one of them.
Rating: 11 Votes
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FSMBP
105 months ago

While it is true "Appstore" is generic, but then again who's to blame apple for trying? Hell just look at what Microsoft was able to get away with.

"WINDOWS" lol.

As if that's not generic at all.


Clearly, you didn't read the 1st page of comments. I don't think you understand that "windows" is not a generic term in naming Operating Systems.
Rating: 10 Votes
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neiltc13
105 months ago

Please provide an example where "App store" was used to describe a software store before Apple.


It doesn't have to have been used before. Both components of the trademark are generic terms, and together the term is generic. There were stores selling applications before Apple launched its "App Store" - heck, any retail store selling computer software could be described as an App Store.
Rating: 9 Votes
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erzhik
105 months ago
Did anyone except die hard apple fans think they would win?
Rating: 8 Votes
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skunk
105 months ago

Likewise, Apple owns a trademark on the words "Mac" and "Macintosh" despite these being a common terms used for a raincoat. But because Apple isn't selling raincoats, the trademark is valid

Actually, a "Macintosh" is a kind of apple.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Rodimus Prime
105 months ago
Come on who did not see this one coming. Apple did not really have a case and it just took someone with enough guts to force Apples hand and prove it.

Amazon did it and proved that Apple should not have the term "App Store" trademark.

Apple App Store is fine.
Oh and my personal favorite argument by Apple was saying App was short for Apple. That one does not even pass the straight face test. It showed the shear desperation if that was going to be the argument.
Rating: 7 Votes

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