Apple Legal Filing Cites Fear of 'Inferior' Amazon Appstore Tarnishing its Reputation

amazon appstore iconThe trademark dispute between Apple and Amazon over the term "App Store" continues to play out, with Computerworld noting that a new filing by Apple clarifies the company's stance that it fears a tarnishing of its reputation by association with the "inferior" Amazon Appstore for Android.

In a filing on Wednesday, Apple countered Amazon's claim that "app store" is a generic label, and repeated its demand that the court issue a preliminary injunction barring Amazon from using the similar "appstore" to market its Android app download center.

"Amazon mischaracterizes Apple's tarnishment claim," Apple said in the June 8 reply to an earlier Amazon filing. "Apple has not asserted that the Android operating system is inferior. Rather, Apple has asserted that Amazon's service is inferior and will tarnish Apple's mark."

In its filing, Apple also expresses concern over the Amazon Appstore's offering of apps that bypass security mechanisms built into the Android platform, as well as a number of cases of malicious or pirated apps that have appeared in Android app marketplaces. Apple fears that having the word "app store" associated with such types of applications will tarnish the reputation of Apple's relatively tightly-regulated App Store.

Apple has also taken the opportunity to point to Amazon's new Mac download store as an example of how Amazon can offer application download services without using the "app store" term.

Apple has been trying since July 2008 to have the U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization grant its trademark application for the "App Store" term. In the process, Apple has reached out to companies it believes are infringing on the mark, as would be required for a granted trademark lest it become considered a generic term and thus unprotect-able. Microsoft has been leading the fight to have Apple's trademark application denied, arguing that the term is too generic in the first place to receive trademark protection.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

chrono1081 Avatar
177 months ago
Sorry Apple, I can't back you on this one and I don't think others will either.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sined13 Avatar
177 months ago
Apple's arrogance has no boundaries.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wordoflife Avatar
177 months ago
Inferior Appstore? That's pushing it, Apple. Wow.

And no one cares what you call your Appstore/Marketplace/download center. We just care about the applications.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr Fusion Avatar
177 months ago
... So Apple's worried about the tarnishing of their "tightly regulated" reputation?

...

;)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lilo777 Avatar
177 months ago
Apple has dealt with inferior competition for a while now. Windows and Android come to mind. I think they just jump to conclusions about the competition too easily now; especially with the lawsuit in play. Amazon's products are not inferior. I like the kindle and Amazon's cloud service is fine. Amazon should come up with a new name for their store though.

Could you explain how "inferior" competitors manage to beat Apple so handily?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doctor Q Avatar
177 months ago
I'll be surprised if Apple wins this court battle. I consider the phrase "app store" to be merely descriptive, not a brand name, and I think this cat is already out of the bag.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)