Amazon Asks Court To Reject Apple's Claim Over 'App Store' Name ... Again

It appears that the latest episode in the continuing Apple App Store vs. Amazon Appstore saga has already emerged. According to Reuters, Amazon has just asked a federal judge to throw out Apple's case against the online retailer's apparent misuse of the "app store" name. Last year, Apple filed a complaint against Amazon on the grounds that the latter is effectively carrying out false advertisement in calling its application store "Appstore." This is, of course, in reference to the former's hugely popular App Store for iOS apps. Amazon has since responded with the primary argument that the phrase under consideration is a generic term. A few weeks after Apple's initial court filing was issued, Amazon came out with proof that even Steve Jobs himself, then CEO of Apple, used the words "app store" in a generic sense. Then, some weeks later, Apple's preliminary injunction ended up being rejected. As reported by Reuters:

Apple added the trademark claim last November, soon after Amazon announced the launch of the Kindle Fire tablet and, according to the complaint, began to call its app store "Amazon Appstore" rather than "Amazon Appstore for Android." It said this change could have contributed to confusion among consumers.

Amazon has requested the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, to again reject Apple's claim. It maintains that "app store" is too generic a term to result in false advertising or consumer confusion. As I see it, Apple's App Store has achieved a level of popularity so immense that it instantly comes to mind at the mere mention of the phrase "app store." But that the phrase is generic cannot be denied as well. What do you think? Is the Apple App Store vs. Amazon Appstore issue a battle worth all the trouble it's been? Source: Reuters

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