Apple is Suing Amazon for Trademark Infringement Over "Appstore"

[LoneWolfArcher]

You'd think Apple would be more understanding:

Apple Corps v Apple Computer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[New2u]

If it was called the "Market" Google would be suing, so don't just blindly hate on Apple. Apple has spent tons of money advertising its "app store"... To hold it against them that they protect their investment is ridiculous. I hope none of you ever copyright anything, if you do the General non-knowing public will hold it against you when you try to protect it....

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what's funny is people thinking Apple is the only company who sues for stuff like this. People act like Google is above these business practices. That's no excuse for Apple to do this but this is how big business works, like it or not everybody sues everyone else for stupid stuff every single day.

The voices of sanity in a thread full of insanity.

First, i've very rarely heard it called the "app store" by anyone, just about everyone i've heard refers to it as "apple's app store". Now does this exactly excuse amazon, no, but then again they didn't use the exact same wording either. Second, if your going to say it's not above google to sue over stupid things, please at least provide links. Everyone can theorize what someone might or might not do, but until faced with that, you cannot judge them. Apple amazingly enough has a track record for suing over stupid stuff, along with many other companies.

 

[CrownMyCoke]

Is Apple serious? They are the biggest bigots ever!

 

[OneTenderRebel]

If it was called the "Market" Google would be suing, so don't just blindly hate on Apple. Apple has spent tons of money advertising its "app store"... To hold it against them that they protect their investment is ridiculous. I hope none of you ever copyright anything, if you do the General non-knowing public will hold it against you when you try to protect it....

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums App

what's funny is people thinking Apple is the only company who sues for stuff like this. People act like Google is above these business practices. That's no excuse for Apple to do this but this is how big business works, like it or not everybody sues everyone else for stupid stuff every single day.

The voices of sanity in a thread full of insanity.

First, i've very rarely heard it called the "app store" by anyone, just about everyone i've heard refers to it as "apple's app store". Now does this exactly excuse amazon, no, but then again they didn't use the exact same wording either. Second, if your going to say it's not above google to sue over stupid things, please at least provide links. Everyone can theorize what someone might or might not do, but until faced with that, you cannot judge them. Apple amazingly enough has a track record for suing over stupid stuff, along with many other companies.

I provided as many links as 99% of people provide valid reasons for disliking Apple. Maybe Google does or does not file a lot of lawsuits but what you can't argue is Google doing whatever they want and then worrying about the consequences after. They are sued by just about everyone for infringing on someone or something. So how is that better than Apple suing for stupid things? I would say doing what you want and worrying about it later is more of "bullying" then suing someone for trademark infringement.

Also on a sidenote, almost everyone I know calls it the "app store" I don't know what else they would call it. Literally every apple commercial or ad calls it the app store. Anyone who thinks app store and appstore are completely different is blinded by their hatred for Apple.

 

[New2u]

The voices of sanity in a thread full of insanity.

First, i've very rarely heard it called the "app store" by anyone, just about everyone i've heard refers to it as "apple's app store". Now does this exactly excuse amazon, no, but then again they didn't use the exact same wording either. Second, if your going to say it's not above google to sue over stupid things, please at least provide links. Everyone can theorize what someone might or might not do, but until faced with that, you cannot judge them. Apple amazingly enough has a track record for suing over stupid stuff, along with many other companies.

I provided as many links as 99% of people provide valid reasons for disliking Apple. Maybe Google does or does not file a lot of lawsuits but what you can't argue is Google doing whatever they want and then worrying about the consequences after. They are sued by just about everyone for infringing on someone or something. So how is that better than Apple suing for stupid things? I would say doing what you want and worrying about it later is more of "bullying" then suing someone for trademark infringement.

Also on a sidenote, almost everyone I know calls it the "app store" I don't know what else they would call it. Literally every apple commercial or ad calls it the app store. Anyone who thinks app store and appstore are completely different is blinded by their hatred for Apple.

I don't hate apple one way or another, don't exactly see eye to eye with stupid lawsuits they do, but i don't hate them at all, so i would hope that's not what your insinuating. Google has made a few do it and ask questions later moves, but then again i could say the same against apple, microsoft, facebook, and just about everyone else. Yes i can unfortunately say that "app store" and "appstore" are 2 different things, just as i can say that all the other places in america that have names spelled different but sound the same are different. I've also heard of androids marketplace referred to as app store, why? because it describes what's in it. Most marketing place i've seen with apple, google, and blackberry, describe the name of the company first before ever saying what the name of their app repository is called. Usually it's "On apple's app store, google's marketplace, or blackberry's app world", or even better is has a huge apple logo with "app store" next to it.

 

[OneTenderRebel]

First, i've very rarely heard it called the "app store" by anyone, just about everyone i've heard refers to it as "apple's app store". Now does this exactly excuse amazon, no, but then again they didn't use the exact same wording either. Second, if your going to say it's not above google to sue over stupid things, please at least provide links. Everyone can theorize what someone might or might not do, but until faced with that, you cannot judge them. Apple amazingly enough has a track record for suing over stupid stuff, along with many other companies.

I provided as many links as 99% of people provide valid reasons for disliking Apple. Maybe Google does or does not file a lot of lawsuits but what you can't argue is Google doing whatever they want and then worrying about the consequences after. They are sued by just about everyone for infringing on someone or something. So how is that better than Apple suing for stupid things? I would say doing what you want and worrying about it later is more of "bullying" then suing someone for trademark infringement.

Also on a sidenote, almost everyone I know calls it the "app store" I don't know what else they would call it. Literally every apple commercial or ad calls it the app store. Anyone who thinks app store and appstore are completely different is blinded by their hatred for Apple.

I don't hate apple one way or another, don't exactly see eye to eye with stupid lawsuits they do, but i don't hate them at all, so i would hope that's not what your insinuating. Google has made a few do it and ask questions later moves, but then again i could say the same against apple, microsoft, facebook, and just about everyone else. Yes i can unfortunately say that "app store" and "appstore" are 2 different things, just as i can say that all the other places in america that have names spelled different but sound the same are different. I've also heard of androids marketplace referred to as app store, why? because it describes what's in it. Most marketing place i've seen with apple, google, and blackberry, describe the name of the company first before ever saying what the name of their app repository is called. Usually it's "On apple's app store, google's marketplace, or blackberry's app world", or even better is has a huge apple logo with "app store" next to it.

Nope was not accusing you at all, sorry if you felt I was, but most people here make it abundantly clear how they feel about Apple. I am also not claiming Apple is free from the do it now, worry later attitude. My only point really is for the people who are just so taken aback that Apple would do this need to step back and realize this happens all the time in big business. No company is innocent of it. That does not make it right in anyway but it's just how it's done.

Also I think people refer to the market as the app store because Apple has done such a good job of promoting their services, IMO of course. It's literally branded into peoples minds now that apple has the app store. So Amazon had to know this was coming when they named their's "appstore".

 

[OneTenderRebel]

Let me take it a step further....

Let's say I own a grocery store and it's called "Tender Rebel Groceries". I have made a great name for myself locally. Now a vacant lot across the street has opened up and someone buys it. Low and behold they put a grocery store there as well. Completely fair and they have every right to challenge me to become the new Grocery King but one day I come into my store and notice their new sign out front and they have named their store "TenderRebel Groceries". Should I just let them market themselves on the success I built on my name? Or should I file a lawsuit for them trying to piggy back off my success???

You bet your butt I am going to file a lawsuit. They have every single right in the world to be a grocery store but they have no right to infringe on my successful brand name.

 

[jntdroid]

Let me take it a step further....

Let's say I own a grocery store and it's called "Tender Rebel Groceries". I have made a great name for myself locally. Now a vacant lot across the street has opened up and someone buys it. Low and behold they put a grocery store there as well. Completely fair and they have every right to challenge me to become the new Grocery King but one day I come into my store and notice their new sign out front and they have named their store "TenderRebel Groceries". Should I just let them market themselves on the success I built on my name? Or should I file a lawsuit for them trying to piggy back off my success???

You bet your butt I am going to file a lawsuit. They have every single right in the world to be a grocery store but they have no right to infringe on my successful brand name.

I think that's a good point. The problem, however, is in everybody's perception of how generic the term "app store" is - "Tender Rebel" is clearly a distinctly unique title for a grocery store (and for what it's worth, I'd definitely check it out!).

As an example - in the previous posts, New2u has communicated that "app store" to him is like saying "grocery store" - a generic term that transcends the specific brand of the store. However, to you (and I tend to agree with this), app store is only "generic" b/c Apple made it generic - like Kleenex, or Xerox. Regardless of who's right, that's the crux of this debate.

 

[OneTenderRebel]

Let me take it a step further....

Let's say I own a grocery store and it's called "Tender Rebel Groceries". I have made a great name for myself locally. Now a vacant lot across the street has opened up and someone buys it. Low and behold they put a grocery store there as well. Completely fair and they have every right to challenge me to become the new Grocery King but one day I come into my store and notice their new sign out front and they have named their store "TenderRebel Groceries". Should I just let them market themselves on the success I built on my name? Or should I file a lawsuit for them trying to piggy back off my success???

You bet your butt I am going to file a lawsuit. They have every single right in the world to be a grocery store but they have no right to infringe on my successful brand name.

I think that's a good point. The problem, however, is in everybody's perception of how generic the term "app store" is - "Tender Rebel" is clearly a distinctly unique title for a grocery store (and for what it's worth, I'd definitely check it out!).

As an example - in the previous posts, New2u has communicated that "app store" to him is like saying "grocery store" - a generic term that transcends the specific brand of the store. However, to you (and I tend to agree with this), app store is only "generic" b/c Apple made it generic - like Kleenex, or Xerox. Regardless of whose right, that's the crux of this debate.

And that is very true but unless I am wrong, which I may be, Apple was the first to launch a app store of any kind on a mobile phone. So they were able to trademark "App Store" which IMO is singling them out as the true owners to "App Store". They built a lot of success upon that name. I do understand why they feel amazon is stepping on their success.

 

[jntdroid]

And that is very true but unless I am wrong, which I may be, Apple was the first to launch a app store of any kind on a mobile phone. So they were able to trademark "App Store" which IMO is singling them out as the true owners to "App Store". They built a lot of success upon that name. I do understand why they feel amazon is stepping on their success.

That's why I tend to think it's more like kleenex or xerox - regardless of how generic it might seem, before the iPhone, "app store" was a meaningless phrase.

 

[czerdrill]

I agree with the person who said it's just a blind hatred for Apple. Because it is. No company on the planet would not sue if someone else used their trademarked phrase in their product. It doesn't matter if it's generic or not, it's trademarked. That's the very definition of trademarking

As mentioned, does it make trademarking common phrases right or suing for it right? Maybe not so, but it doesn't matter. It's a trademark. They have every right to sue. "Pagerank" is trademarked by Google and "page" and "rank" are pretty generic terms. You're telling me if Apple came out with "Apple Page Rank", which served the same purpose as page ranking with Google, that Google would say "awesome marketing, Apple!" Come on...

 

[New2u]

Let me take it a step further....

Let's say I own a grocery store and it's called "Tender Rebel Groceries". I have made a great name for myself locally. Now a vacant lot across the street has opened up and someone buys it. Low and behold they put a grocery store there as well. Completely fair and they have every right to challenge me to become the new Grocery King but one day I come into my store and notice their new sign out front and they have named their store "TenderRebel Groceries". Should I just let them market themselves on the success I built on my name? Or should I file a lawsuit for them trying to piggy back off my success???

You bet your butt I am going to file a lawsuit. They have every single right in the world to be a grocery store but they have no right to infringe on my successful brand name.

To me it's more like naming something "quik-e-mart, quickie mart, quicky mart" now they are all spelled different, yet they sound the same. As people have pointed out in other places, app is a description of what they sell in their store, short for application, it's just too broad of a name/description. So if i spell it @ppSt0re or appstor does it get the same rights, if definitely should not. This lawsuit will not go anywhere until the one with microsoft and apple gets finished, to even see if the courts uphold "app store" as a real trademark or if the government overstepped it's boundaries on this one. Now i will say to people that think this is dumb, that there is no police to keep people in line from stealing a name or using it without authorization, and if this does somehow constitute an infringement, and apple looks the other way, then they are basically condoning the violation of it. So for that, i can completely understand why they are doing it, but i don't think it will go anywhere.

 

[b-jammin21]

You all make very good points. I can completely understand why Apple would want to sue over this matter. Now, I'll make it known that I hate Apple, but I certainly don't "blindly" hate Apple, and I'm not "insane." In any sort of debate, I believe that facts and truisms are all that matters. In this case, its a clear-cut fact that Apple sees this as an infringement of their trademark, and I can agree with that due to their name of the App Store and the connotation associated with it, because they had the name at the dawn of smartphones, and "App Store" is known to everyone already as being Apple.

However, the matter and nature of the lawsuits is what bugs me. Apple goes around with all their money buying (yes buying) lots of their patents, for what I believe, helps set them up for lawsuits in the future, just so they can say "nah nah nah nah boo boo, stick your head in doo doo, that was ours first." Haha, it reminds me a lot of the Tosh.0 episode where he runs around trying to be "first" in everything, just as people try to be first in comments. Lol, kinda reminds me of Apple a bit, but that sketch is hilarious...

Play a jam!

 

[New2u]

This is what was said about windows.. when it sued "lindows" over it's trademark.

"The rulings are a major victory for Lindows.com," Harris said in a statement. "Essentially, the Court's ruling confirms that a company, no matter how much money it spends, cannot buy a word out of the English language."

The core of the dispute according to Microsoft has always been about San Diego-based Lindows infringing on its Windows trademark. The Court's ruling however frames it in the context of the validity of Microsoft's Windows trademark.

"The threshold issue to considering Microsoft's federal trademark causes of action is the validity of the mark itself," wrote the United States District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle Case in its' order (NO.C01-2115C). "If the term is found to be generic, it cannot be the subject of trademark protection under any circumstances."

According to that ruling, the lawsuit from Microsoft against apple for using "app store" has a high probability to go through and make it to where they can't trademark it.

Excerpt from the lawsuit of microsoft vs apple:

"The undisputed facts further show that the combined term 'app store' is commonly used in the trade, by the general press, by consumers, by Apple's competitors and even by Apple's founder and CEO Steve Jobs, as the generic name for online stores featuring apps."

So i agree that apple surely has the right to sue anyone they see fit, for even the dumbest of things.

 

[b-jammin21]

Let me take it a step further....

Let's say I own a grocery store and it's called "Tender Rebel Groceries". I have made a great name for myself locally. Now a vacant lot across the street has opened up and someone buys it. Low and behold they put a grocery store there as well. Completely fair and they have every right to challenge me to become the new Grocery King but one day I come into my store and notice their new sign out front and they have named their store "TenderRebel Groceries". Should I just let them market themselves on the success I built on my name? Or should I file a lawsuit for them trying to piggy back off my success???

You bet your butt I am going to file a lawsuit. They have every single right in the world to be a grocery store but they have no right to infringe on my successful brand name.

To me it's more like naming something "quik-e-mart, quickie mart, quicky mart" now they are all spelled different, yet they sound the same. As people have pointed out in other places, app is a description of what they sell in their store, short for application, it's just too broad of a name/description. So if i spell it @ppSt0re or appstor does it get the same rights, if definitely should not. This lawsuit will not go anywhere until the one with microsoft and apple gets finished, to even see if the courts uphold "app store" as a real trademark or if the government overstepped it's boundaries on this one. Now i will say to people that think this is dumb, that there is no police to keep people in line from stealing a name or using it without authorization, and if this does somehow constitute an infringement, and apple looks the other way, then they are basically condoning the violation of it. So for that, i can completely understand why they are doing it, but i don't think it will go anywhere.

I like your quikie mart example. It actually reminds me of the Kwik-Stop down the road from me. I doubt they are the only ones named Kwik-Stop, Quick Stop, or any variation of the words, and I know for a fact that they aren't doing their research to find any other store named Quick Stop to file a trademark lawsuit. Though they could, right?

Play a jam!