Judge Says Apple Will "Probably" Lose Appstore Court Challenge

[Andy Chalk]

Judge Says Apple Will "Probably" Lose Appstore Court Challenge

A U.S. federal judge says Apple is probably going to lose its court battle to force Amazon to stop using the term "Appstore" because it hasn't demonstrated any actual confusion among consumers.

Apple defended [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108665-Its-Apple-vs-Amazon-Over-Appstore] its use of the name by saying that "app store" is a generic term and thus no permission or license to use it is required.

Apple sought a preliminary injunction barring Amazon's use of the "Appstore" name while its lawsuit works through the courts but it looks like Amazon is going to come out on top in this one. Judge Phyllis Hamilton said she is "probably" going to deny Apple's motion because the company has failed to demonstrated "real evidence of actual confusion."

"I'm troubled by the showing that you've made so far, but that's where you're likely not to prevail at this early juncture," she added.

The judge said she would review the court filings before issuing her final decision. Apple declined to comment on the comment.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-22/apple-bid-to-bar-amazon-appstore-will-likely-be-denied.html]


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[DrScoobs]

good. fuck apple and their pointless lawsuits.

 

[Dogstile]

Yeah, its a general term. Its a store for "apps". Why shouldn't you call it that? Calling it something else would only cause confusion on ama-

Those sneaky gits.

 

[Seriin]

Good. One more notch against ridiculous lawsuits (hopefully)

 

[Cousin_IT]

If only they'd put an i infront of App, then Apple's customers wouldn't be so confused

 

[twaddle]

Well the good news is that they lost the case for this one. The incredibly bad news is that they recently got the won the race for a patent the "Touch screen technology" which means all touch screen tech that is made they can charge the other cheaper better companies because of said patent which is bollocks

 

[Hobohodo]

Wow, it seems like any chance they can get, they'll sue. Although, most companies are like that, everyone is so desperate for any source of money they can get their hands on.

I agree with Amazon though, App Store is a pretty generic term.

 

[Baresark]

A smart judge... nice. Glad to see this work out in Amazon's favor. I don't care one single bit about Apple, but I do shop at Amazon quite a bit. And Amazon's Appstore, one free paid app a day has really worked out for me.

 

[SaintWaldo]

Apple sought a preliminary injunction barring Amazon's use of the "Appstore" name while its lawsuit works through the courts but it looks like Amazon is going to come out on top in this one. Judge Phyllis Hamilton said she is "probably" going to deny Apple's motion because the company has failed to demonstrated "real evidence of actual confusion."

Isn't this a decision on the preliminary injunction, NOT the entire lawsuit? There seems to be some conflation going on. I think the title is reaching too far in implying loss of the whole challenge, not just this early injunction while the real battles are fought.

 

[standokan]

I miss the days when apple was a small cute indie thing, not just an asshole.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Good. Attempting to trademark a word like "App" or "Appstore" is just laughably stupid. It reminds me of that other idiot, who sued everybody for making games with the word "Edge" in the title.

 

[righthanded]

I still think Apple is crazy not to do something that plays off the idea of Apple Cart, Apple Basket, or something like that.
Orchard, bushel--Apple is a great company name and I can't believe they don't make any plays beyond Mac(intosh)

 

[Stabby Joe]

While plenty do coin App with Apple, being the Apple store, not much else come to mind except for "application" maybe, which is usually the term for a group of computer software... so yeah, that's another way of interpreting it I suppose.

 

[Nurb]

Apple has become the new "Microsoft".

Except Microsoft in the 90's was catching all kinds of shit for only including IE in its OS, but Apple is allowed to control everyone's device despite it being private property, how they use it, what they put on it, and what software can go on it and no one seems to bat an eye.

 

[The Grim Ace]

I hope this knocks Apple back down as many notches as possible. As far as most people are concerned Apple is leading in smartphone everything and seeing how they keep everything as closed as possible, a lawsuit like this might open Apple up a little.

It may also make them close things up even more and screw the competition and consumers even more.

 

[rees263]

I'm pretty sure I've seen footage of Steve Jobs using the term "App" in a generic sense himself, totally going against the argument that "App", and by extension "Appstore", applies specifically to Apple products.

 

[mjc0961]

They should lose because they shouldn't have been able to patent "app store" in the first place.

Apple has become the new "Microsoft".

Except Microsoft in the 90's was catching all kinds of shit for only including IE in its OS, but Apple is allowed to control everyone's device despite it being private property, how they use it, what they put on it, and what software can go on it and no one seems to bat an eye.

Except when people like you point that out, and now Apple fans are going to go apeshit on you for it. And probably on me too if they notice this because I'm agreeing with you.

 

[Phlakes]

...Wait, so now people are hating on Apple? The fuck?

Could you get over yourselves? Just because something is popular or a company is rich doesn't mean they're evil. I mean this is obviously a mistake, but now you're all saying it's a terrible company and needs to be brought down.

 

[BabyRaptor]

Good. They deserve to lose. I'm all for lawsuits when a wrong has actually been committed, but...Not here.