Judge shoots down Apple’s ‘App store’ suit against Amazon

A U.S. judge has shot down Apple’s request that Amazon stop using the word “Appstore” to describe its mobile application marketplace. Apple originally filed a lawsuit against Amazon in March of this year arguing that Amazon’s “Appstore” infringed on Apple’s “App Store” trademark. Amazon immediately responded calling the claims “baseless,” and now the court has taken its side. “The evidence does show that Apple has spent a great deal of money on advertising and publicity, and has sold/provided/furnished a large number of apps from its App Store,” Judge Phyllis Hamilton, said. “However, there is also evidence that the term ‘app store’ is used by other companies as a descriptive term for a place to obtain software applications for mobile devices.” Hamilton argued that Apple’s use of the phrase “App Store” was “more descriptive than distinctive.” Microsoft and Apple are also fighting over the term — and Microsoft has said that the term “App Store” is “generic for retail store services featuring apps.” Apple’s case against Amazon is currently being heard by an appeals board.

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