Posts Tagged: "app store"

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton while there are similarities in the names of the digital application storefronts, Apple has not proved that Amazon has in fact tried to pass itself off as an official Apple app store. In her order to dismiss the claim, Hamilton wrote, “There is no evidence that a consumer who accesses the Amazon Appstore would expect that it would be identical to the Apple App Store, particularly given that the Apple App Store sells apps solely for Apple devices, while the Amazon Appstore sells apps solely for Android and Kindle devices. Further, the integration of Apple devices has more to do with Apple’s technology than it does with the nature, characteristics, or qualities of the App Store.”

The Apple application for “APP STORE” is currently in opposition proceedings at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Here’s the skinny in 4th grade prose. Back in ’08, Apple opened up its first app store. Shortly thereafter, it filed a trademark application for “APP STORE” in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The Examiner said “No way! That mark is descriptive!” Apple said “Nu-uh!” Examiner said “Yes huh!” Apple said, “Nu-uh!!!”, and appealed. Examiner said “OK, fine” and published the application for opposition. Then Microsoft said, “No way! That mark is descriptive!”