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Apple Continues Sending Cease and Desist Letters Regarding 'App Store' Usage
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They were back then too --- that was the irony -- if not to say chutzpah --- of that ad. I like their products, though.
If it's, as you say, stupidly simple to reply to, then why don't you let us all know how they should respond?
It's stupidly simple, it only requires half a brain, and it won't take much time.
I'm sure you can manage to do that.
Well, when Apple tries to trademark the word "App" or "Apps", we'll call you. But Apple doesn't do that. They are trademarking "App Store". Now if you can show me any use of the term "App Store" before Apple used it...
You know... I can't think of any... Maybe...
I think that this company just name their store "ApStore" lose the p.. then maybe in smaller type as sort of a sub name something along the lines of "piss on you, Apple. We do what we want!"
I agree.
Yes, I know the term "app" has been around longer than the iPhone.
But you have to admit, the phrase "There's an app for that" was pretty darn popular, and that started the whole "app" boom. Everything is called an app nowadays.
It does not matter at all, even if Apple did invent the term App Store. If now the term is used generically to define that kind of thing, the trademark cannot be granted or would be lost if already granted.
Some examples which might help people getting the point:
"Windows" can be used generically to define any Operating System? No, "Windows" in the field of Operating Systems clearly describes Microsoft's particular OS. Trademark makes sense.
"Thermos can be used generically to define any vacuum flask? Once it did. With time the trademark lost it's distinctive value and became a generic term to call any brand of vacuum flask. The trademark was lost (at least in the U.S.).
"App Store" can be used generically to define any Application Store? Or defines clearly only Apple's Application Store? Depending on how you answer to this you consider it a term worthy of trademark protection, or not.
As you should have seen from my quote. I was responding to the remarkably high number (double digits at least) of people who are posting these incredible ridiculous posts claiming that the word App has only been around for the past couple years, and that Apple started it. Plain silly.
They are the same people that go around complaining that everyone is "copying" Apple's innovations. I'm not saying they aren't. But that is how things progress. At some point, one company made a pretty good mouse. From that point on, mice, for the most part, look the same. We don't really call them all "copycats" of the original. Someone got it right, and from that point on that is what a mouse is going to look like. Until someone makes a better one. Does anyone and all follow what I am saying? If you get something right, from a design standpoint, your lead is going to be followed. It doesn't always equal a lawsuit. From suing a company because their rectangular, remarkably simple looking phone looks similar to your rectangular, simple looking phone.... to now trying to tell companies to stop using the words App and Store anywhere near one another.
Apple is out of control. I think I jumped on the bandwagon too late. They are Microsoft now.
Good lord. They gave their suite of programs a name. A comparison would be if Microsoft named "Word" "Microsoft's Word Processor" instead. Then, if Apple made "Apple's Word Processor" and Microsoft then sued them because they say they own the term "Word Processor" ... now you have a comparison. And you begin to see why this phrase is too generic. More examples?
Ray's Coffee Shop
Monk's Coffee Shop
John's Coffee Shop
Sue's Coffee Shop
Ray's Diner
Cindy's Diner
The Best Diner
These places do not sue each other because they think they own the "Coffee Shop" or the "Diner" part.
Apple App Store
Amazon Appstore
Do we understand why the majority seem to feel it's too generic yet? Is anything getting through?
Well Marketplace for WP7 is a carry over from the 360 marketplace. They just keep naming system in place they already had.
It is pretty clear MS though Apple trying to trademark App Store was crap even though they are not using it.
I think MS wants to use it to describe WP Marketplace as an App Store with out fear of Apple suing them for using it as a description of what it is. WP Marketplace is an app store.
Add to it they wanted to seperate themselves from Apple and have their own App store.
Amazon on the other had I see they are looking longer term and will have multiple platforms when it is all said and done. I fully expect them to support Blackberry and Palm in the future. So they wanted a more generic name to cover all their bases in the future. Amazon appstore. It names tells you exactly what it is.
An app store run by Amazon. No real confusision there.
Microsoft can trademark Windows, for the same reason Apple can trademark Snow Leopard.
Now, this the time where many of you will come back with, but Windows contains windows.
OK, then. Microsoft can trademark Windows, for the same reason Apple can trademark Numbers.
Now, this the time where many of you will come back with, but Windows contains windows.
OK, then. Microsoft can trademark Windows, for the same reason Apple can trademark Numbers.
It's not that Microsoft or Google or any of these other players want to rename their existing store. They simply want to refer to it as an app store.
"Microsoft Marketplace is an *app store* where you can find the games you enjoy!"
"Wal Mart the *grocery store* with the lowest prices in town"
As soon as *grocery store* is trademarked, Wal Mart can no longer say this. And that would be stupid.
And as soon as *app store* is trademarked, Microsoft can no longer say what it wanted to say also.
And that would be equally stupid.
,
On this same thread there is at least TWO examples of other companies using App Store or AppStore way before Apple.
They can't until they win/lose their fight with Amazon. Apple simply must defend this vigorously or they'll be accused of it in court in the Amazon suit. "If app store is so important to you, then why are you only suing Amazon?' The opposing counsel will say..
I guarantee that after the Amazon suit is settled ( even if Apple wins ) none of these little guys will get pursued.
This is not such a simple fight as people think... its far more complex than that. Amazon is a triple threat to Apple. Far more than Google is.
Amazon has massive online acceptance... they have a successful device, they have a music infrastructure, and a electronic media infrastructure, not to mention they had "cloud" infrastructure far before anyone called it "the cloud". They have sales data, they have personal connections to their users.
People always think Google is Apple's biggest threat. Not in my opinion. So what if android succeeds. Google doesn't make any money in it and their model doesn't even allow them to make money in it in the future.
Anyway... Apple is doing everything they can to throw cogs into Amazon's works to make sure Apple keeps the lead they have. I don't see this as anythign other than being shrewd.
Actually, let's say Apple wins against Microsoft in the trademark registration opposition and then successfully wins against Amazon, they would have no choice but to pursue these little guys in order not to lose their newly acquired trademark.
So what you say is unfortunately the whole opposite of reality.
It has more to do with that it's a descriptive term rather than it being generic. As far as I know MS has never tried to prevent Apple or any one else from referring to the rectangular areas that is applications as "windows". Furthermore, the name is actually "Microsoft Windows", if Apple would call it "Apple App Store" it would be perfectly fine. Microsoft could've called their OS "Microsoft Operating System" but everyone can see that simply "Operating System" wouldn't work and shouldn't be able to be trademarked.
You may have a point about Internet Explorer, it could be seen as a generic and descriptive term, but since consensus is that this sort of application is referred to as "internet browser" or "web browser" it really isn't.
And to those that try to claim that no one used the term "app" before Apple created their app store; trying to rewrite history is not ok.
Well the words App Store are been used as a general word now. see this web page
http://servage.com/
"TotalCloud's Enterprise App Store enables a whole new level of performance and flexibility for your business"
http://servage.com/
"TotalCloud's Enterprise App Store enables a whole new level of performance and flexibility for your business"