In a recent motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Apple to stop Amazon from using its “App Store” trademark, Amazon argued that the term “App Store” was as generic as “book store” or “music store”…. and quoted several remarks by Steve Jobs referring to his competitors’ offerings as “app stores” as proof.
Now Apple’s filed a rebuttal: NUH UH! App Store isn’t generic at all.
Apple’s filing was made late Thursday, asking the judge not to dismiss their lawsuit against Amazon over the recent launch of its own Appstore for Android while insisting that the term isn’t commonly used by other companies besides Apple.
That’s true, in that Amazon’s the first company to brazenly challenge Apple’s trademark by launching their own branded, competing app store, but other companies are fighting Cupertino’s trademark on other fronts. Earlier this month, Microsoft, Nokia, HTC and Sony Ericsson joined forces just last week to try to kill the trademark in Europe.
What do you think? Is Apple’s App Store trademark overreaching? Personally, I’m with Amazon: I think Apple should own it only when applied to specific platforms, like iOS App Store and Mac App Store. Let us know in the comments how you feel about it.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
83 responses to “Apple Refutes Amazon’s Claim That App Store Is Generic”
I’m with Amazon. Apple, get over yourself. Just because “App” is part of “Apple” doesn’t mean you own the trademark to the word…
Since Apple came up with the App Store name, it should be theres. Other companies should find more creative names. For example, Android has Marketplace or similar to that.
What could be more generic than “Windows”? Even before MS came out with the Windows OS, computer users talked about opening a new window on their windowing GUI. If MS can trademark Windows, then Apple should be able to trade mark App Store.
And they’re called the Windows Marketplace and Android Market. Not Windows App Store or Android App Store. So implicitly, by their actions MS and Google acknowledged that App Store is an Apple trademark. No matter what they say now, they can’t undo what they did.
Why can’t these companies stop bitching about Apple, come up with their own name that’s synonymous with their store and market the shit out of it. Even if it is generic, Apple was first out of the gate to call it that and has won the marketing war so whenever people hear the the term “App store” or “App” it is connected the iPhone and iPads. IMO, Amazon and these other companies need to try something new appwise that consumers can identify their own platforms with.
App is a part of Apple.. nice dude.. you seem to dig more than an apple fan.. Its ok your mind is opposing it as of now I guess..
tell me a company that used the App store before Apple and I will shut up.
lets be honest. “App store” isn’t generic at all. Maybe “Application Store” but not “App Store”. Im with you Apple.
They were called “programs” forever, and once Apple became popular and called their programs APPS, now everyone wants to call their programs “apps”.
If Apple called them Little Pieces of Crap at the Little Pieces of Crap Store we would be reading an article how Microsoft says that their programs have been Little Pieces of Crap from the beginning and they should be allowed to call their online store the Microsoft Little Pieces of Crap Store (if this was really the case, I would have to agree with Microsoft on this one). When you have only one tech company, and a whole bunch of copy cats, these things will happen. There has been no original thought out of Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.
I have to side with Apple on this one. There were no “apps” prior to Apple calling them so.
The meaning of “generic” in trademark law is that the phrase, AS A WHOLE, is commonly used to refer to a generic class of product, goods, or service. It’s well settled in trademark law that 2 words that are generic on their own are not necessarily generic when they are combined. It’s also well settled that whether a trademark is “generic” is determined by how MOST PEOPLE actually use it. But the phrase “APP STORE” was not used by the public for anything before Apple made it famous. So there is no doubt that when Apple applied for the trademark the mark was not generic. Has it become generic since then? Perhaps. But this much is certain: there is only one reason all these companies want to call their services “app store”. It’s because Apple has spent the time and money, and taken the risk, to make “APP STORE” into an extremely valuable mark for a particular type of service. Now, the freeloaders want to get a piece of that value for free. This is precisely what trademark law is supposed to prevent. If the App Store had flopped, you can bet there wouldn’t see a single company protesting this trademark.
You guys said about Windows bein generic… But another example: isn’t “Amazon” the name of a forest in northwest Brazil? I think it’s generic also… =P
Google calls theirs the android marketplace…. people know what that’s for. Why can’t companies come up with their own original stuff. Google did it. Why isn’t Amazon fighting google and calling theirs the “Amazon Android Marketplace”. Apple is the one that started calling them apps. Why not the “Micro Store” for Microsofts mobile programs? I’m with Apple on this one. It must just be frustrating for them having everyone else copy everything they do.
hahahahahahaha!
LOL!!!!
Apple makes a good point. “App Store” wasn’t commonly used in the industry until Apple started using it. However, you could make that argument that this is irrelevant considering that there wasn’t an “App Store” industry until Apple created it.. I think to relate it to common uses like “book store” and “music store” is a good path to follow, but these phrases I believe are more of a “slang” terminology for companies relating to it. I may say “let’s go to the bookstore” but really I should say “let’s go to Barnes and Noble” or “the library”. In terms of the App Store, one saying “let’s check out the App Store” is correctly naming a specific store owned by Apple.
I’m with Apple. “App Store” may sound generic, but no one used it until Apple so I think they have every right to make the argument that it is valid nomenclature for their store and deserves a trademark. Early bird gets the worm.
Passive agressivism at it’s best!! FTW lol!!!
hey i use appstore day in day out, dont see apple chasing me filing a rebuttal
Apple needs to let it go. Im with amazon on this one. Besides that means apple can rename their app store to the Apple App Store, which is pretty fun to say.
I think they should get the trademark as the others are just copycats, copy everything and can’t invent their own names for their stores. C’mon.
If someone says to me “I got it on the app store.” I know they mean Apple.
Who cares ? Majority of people will think of Apple when they encounter the term “App Store”.
Still, i think that “App Store” can be a trademark, especially when “Windows” is one.
Why should they let go ? Apple coined the term “Application” and “App” years ago. They used the term “App Store” first. Now every other company copied them, couldn’t even think of any other name for their stores – and it’s Apple who should let go ? Can’t see why…
I do think “App Store” is generic, but many people have come to associate “App Store” with Apple. Before this, most people called those programs “applications.”
I think Apple has the right to it. They made the “App Store” popular. No one was using it before. There was no App Store before. Besides, it’s better if the others would just come up with their own so not to confuse the consumers. Windows already have their Marketplace, and Nokia OVI. I think that would make each application store unique to its platform, giving each one its own identity. Others just seem to ride on Apple’s success. They need to be creative as well.
I completely agree with your assessment. I share the exact same feelings.
it can be made generic or equally it can be be a specific anyway apple were the first to use so why shouldn’t they be allowed to trademark it they weren’t called anything else in the past
Didn’t Apple, Amiga and Microsoft create Destops, Workbenches and Windows all of which would appear to be generic but were all trademarkable.
I saw the first Tron. Can’t fool me :)
I agree, Apple has taken the App Store and raised to the same level of products such as Kleenex. If you asked for a Kleenex before Kleenex came to market people would of thought you were crazy. If you would have talked about “Apps” before apple launched the App store, people would have been annoyed with you trying to shorten the word “Application.”
I believe that Apple has made it’s product name synonymous with the service (Kleenex, Q-tip, etc.)
If you want to get into generics like Windows or Amazon, what about Apple itself?
Generic…
Lol
So many blind fan boys. I love and own Apple products, but this is ridicoulous, same as dumb Facebook, putting trademark on face and book. Oh common, get your minds together…
Love it! My sentiments exactly.
I think if it was called “app store” and not “App Store” Amazon might have a case. Right?
Completely agree with you… However, you have to remember Amazon is the creator of such creative names as Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player, must be hard for them not being able to just stick Amazon in front of a general description for the service, kinda like Google normally does…
I find it ridiculous that Microsoft, Sony, Amazon and others are suing Apple over the App Store name. And also the fact that they call the App Store name generic, especially Microsoft. Microsoft trademarked ‘Windows’, Sony trademarked ‘Walkman’ and Amazon is actually a jungle down in South America. It just shows that one way to make money in the States is by suing other people who are successful.
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You’re funny.
Apple called it AppStore because they call their “softwares/programs” Applications on their machines before any of their iDevices/iOS’ came out.
Have you ever owned a Mac running OS X? If so,
Look at the applications in the applications folder… see those file extensions?
Mac OS’ have been using those since the first iteration of OS X.
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“protect APPLICATIONS folder”… apple system 7 early ’90s
steve jobs’ nextstep had an “Applications” folder in its filesystem and the .app extension back in the ’80s. at the time windows had programs manager and file manager and .exe
microsoft still use programs in windows7 start menu and its online help search engine doesn’t work well if you use application/s instead of program/s
That was a hilarious analogy to this whole situation. Bravo!
To be invalidated as a trademark, the word has to be a generic term for the product in question. “Apple” is a generic term for a kind of fruit; it is not a generic term for a kind of computer. You cannot register “Apple” as a trademark for a new kind of apple, but you can register it as a trademark for a computer.
You can make an argument (as Apple did, once upon a time) that Microsoft should be denied a trademark for “Windows,” because “windows” was a generic term for the most distinctive feature of GUIs long before Microsoft filed for its trademark. It was like naming an operating system “Dialog Boxes.” Microsoft had to go through a lot of challenges to get the trademark. If they had named it Doors, there would have been no problem. While “door” is a generic term for devices that let you walk through walls, it is not a generic term for anything in computers or computer software.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is a contraction of Micro[computer] Soft[ware], coined during the days when personal computers were called microcomputers. “Microcomputer software” was a generic term in the computer industry, but no one challenged the name “Microsoft,” because the contraction is unique.Microsoft would not have been able to register “Microcomputer Software” as a trademark, but they were able to register “Microsoft.” Similarly, Apple shouldn’t be able to get a trademark for “Application Store,” but they should be able to register “App Store,” because they invented the term, and it is not generic outside the allegations in the courtroom.
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Meh.
/debate