There's a war raging between Apple and Microsoft over the use of the term "App Store." Apple says they should own the trademark to it, and Microsoft says it's too generic a term, and that anyone -- and everyone -- should be allowed to use it.
Apple's lawyers were strutting their catty best in a filing Monday night, saying:
"Having itself faced a decades-long genericness challenge to its claimed WINDOWS mark, Microsoft should be well aware that the focus in evaluating genericness is on the mark as a whole and requires a fact-intensive assessment of the primary significance of the term to a substantial majority of the relevant public," says Apple in the filing. "Yet, Microsoft, missing the forest for the trees, does not base its motion on a comprehensive evaluation of how the relevant public understands the term APP STORE as a whole."
It seems that the comment about Windows would ring truer if Microsoft were in the business of selling actual windows, but, hey, I'm not a lawyer. As it is, Apple sells apps in an online store; one wonders if a grocery store claiming the trademark for "Grocery Store" would meet with their approval.
Microsoft disagrees with Apple's interepretation of the viability of their trademark application, naturally:
Microsoft argued in a previous filing that any "secondary meaning or fame Apple has in 'App Store' is de facto secondary meaning that cannot convert the generic term 'app store' into a protectable trademark."
Among other pieces of evidence, the Microsoft filing noted that the media and even Apple CEO Steve Jobs have used the phrase generically. Jobs, for example, once referred in an interview to a new crop of Android "app stores."
This is convoluted: on the one hand, Apple does call it the App Store, and that's the product name. On the other hand, it is pretty generic. Only the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board can resolve this deadlock, which they'll do, deciding whether to grant Microsoft's motion to dismiss Apple's application, or to allow the case to continue to trial.
Via TechFlash
ipisking
March 02, 2011 at 10:20am
Apple should have seen this coming!! And should have prepared themselves a head of time. Microsoft won't be the only company that wants to open a "APP Store" The name just sounds too good to pass on.
sportmac
March 02, 2011 at 4:53am
why can't microsoft use PROG STORE? they've always had programs, apple has always had applications.
what's their problem.
PROG STORE has a real ring to it don't ya think?
purplemaizenjm
March 02, 2011 at 12:28am
Cant Apple have something that is thier own? Does everyone have to sue them and have to have a piece of the pie? I know that we can just sit down like normal people and share and discuss this. Because Macs do have the capablity to switch. (bootcamp) I dont understand why it is such a difficult decision... can't we just all get along?
I guess we just dont live in the norm of things... beta testers will test away and always have the bright ideas. But most of the time will never get heard. Unless they shout it out loud.. That is my next step.
