Apple accuses Amazon of false advertising in ongoing pursuit of 'App Store' trademark

Apple continues to fight for the "App Store" trademark, accusing Amazon of false advertisement in an amended filing against the company's use of the term in a recent promotion for the Kindle Fire tablet.

Apple filed the revised claim on Wednesday in response to Amazon's use of the term when marketing the Kindle Fire in September, hoping to bolster its position in winning the "App Store" trademark, reports paidContent.org.

The iPhone maker claims that it has the only true App Store and that Amazon's use of the term could lead customers to believe that the companies have affiliated software marketplaces. The filing goes on to say that Amazon's ad was false or misleading, and could have caused confusion for customers.

"For example, consumer of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple or is merely a conduit for Apple's APP STORE service."

Amazon's Kindle Fire web page has been updated since its Sep. debut and no longer includes mention of the Amazon App Store.

Apple originally filed the complaint in March when Amazon used the phrase "Appstore for Android" when promoting its marketplace for software designed to run on Google's smartphone platform. Since then the Internet sales giant has used the term in various advertisements and Amazon related services.

When Apple first launched its iPhone App Store in July 2008, the company applied for ownership of the "App Store" trademark, however the Trademark Office has yet to grant the application. Rivals have complained that the term is generic and should not be owned by any one company, with Microsoft going so far as to file a formal objection in January.

Trademark cases have the potential be taken to court, where an application will be deemed valid based on a five-part distinctiveness scale. "Generic" or "descriptive" terms cannot be trademarked, though "fanciful" names are more likely to garner legal protection.

Apple is no stranger to intellectual property lawsuits, and is currently embroiled in a worldwide patent dispute with Samsung. The Cupertino, Calif. company has won a temporary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, and most recently forced the Korean company to modify and rebrand the device in an attempt to sidestep an outright ban in Germany.

Samsung has yet to find success in its many attempts to leverage FRAND patents against Apple, though the Galaxy device maker continues to file suits worldwide.

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34 Comments

tallest skil

said about 12 years ago

Okay, so what does Amazon's depiction say?

Do they say, "You can download apps from the App Store" or do they say "from the Amazon App Store?"

Because the former's obviously infringing. The latter, of course, is just part of Apple's other case where they want to trademark 'App Store' as a name.

Question: Doesn't Amazon have a trademark on 'One-Click'? How is that different from Apple being able to trademark 'App Store'?

You know what's NOT in question. Amazon's pitching of the Kindle Fire as having the same screen as the iPad. That's abject nonsense right there.

freerange

said about 12 years ago

Truly amazing that Apple's stock has declined so much in the past week when you compare their profits and gross margins to Amazon, as well as their respective PE ratios. Amazon has chosen a low margin, make no profit, give it away for free, build it and they will come business strategy to the detriment of their shareholders, while Apple continues to fire on all cylinders in every product category making record profits, the majority of industry profits, at high margins. Go figure. And Amazon keeps wanting to put a stick in Apple's eye. Maybe Amazon should start focusing on creating more profitable businesses and stop wasting the owners' (shareholders') money. Oh, and now they want to produce a phone so they can lose even more of their shareholders money. The stupidity of all this is that you can get Amazon products and services on Apple and all the major brand devices already through the web, or through Amazon produced apps that are available in the real App Store from Apple.

gatorguy

said about 12 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

You know what's NOT in question. Amazon's pitching of the Kindle Fire as having the same screen as the iPad. That's abject nonsense right there.

I thought it did. Both are IPS displays, and both at the same res aren't they?

EDIT: It looks like the Kindle Fire has a higher pixel density than the iPad2. That doesn't make the Fire an iPad competitor IMO, but the screens are very comparable as far as I can see.

charlituna

said about 12 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

Because the former's obviously infringing. The latter, of course, is just part of Apple's other case where they want to trademark 'App Store' as a name.

and as part of that attempt they have to file these types of complaints as part of protecting their mark.

Quote:

Question: Doesn't Amazon have a trademark on 'One-Click'? How is that different from Apple being able to trademark 'App Store'?

it is different because Apple licenses One Click from Amazon and with it comes use of the trademark etc. If you read the Apple terms they say that One-Click is the licensed trademark of Amazon and is used with permission.

Apple isn't using One-Click to talk about something that is wholly Apple

drdoppio

said about 12 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gatorguy

Not the same screens (different size, shape, pixel density), but the same technology and the same wide viewing angle.

The "Appstore" trademark has not been granted yet, so Amazon isn't doing anything wrong. If the trademark is approved, they will probably have to come up with another term.

Personally, I have zero sympathy for anyone that will confuse Apple's App Store with Amazon's Appstore.