Apple recently requested an injunction against Amazon for use of the term or phrase “app store,” and filed a trademark lawsuit against the online retailer. Apple contended that it owned the rights to the “app store” name and that Amazon’s use of it would only confuse consumers. However, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton didn’t agree with the Cupertino-based company’s argument.
This comes as no surprise to us since we learned two weeks ago that Judge Hamilton was likely to deny the injunction. According to a report by Reuters, Apple was unable to convince the judge that the app store term was “likely to cause confusion.”
On Wednesday Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet referred to the company’s prior statements, which said Apple asked Amazon not to copy the App Store name because it will “confuse and mislead customers.”
Amazon isn’t the only one arguing that the app store term is too broad and general to be trademarked, but Microsoft aired its own sentiment about the issue a few months ago. As I’ve stated before, it is a rather generic term and the alternatives for other applications markets seem to be pretty slim.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Is it fair for Apple to try to claim all rights to the name “App Store” while others are forced to refer to their own applications markets as something else? Or are you siding with Judge Hamilton in this matter, and that use of the term elsewhere isn’t going to confuse customers?
[Via: Reuters]