Yeahhh, no!! It got to the point where they knew they weren't going to win so they cut their losses and gave up. There is no such thing as the bigger man when corporate law, possibly worth billions in royalties, are concerned.
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Apple and Amazon Settle 'App Store' Dispute
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Yeahhh, no!! It got to the point where they knew they weren't going to win so they cut their losses and gave up. There is no such thing as the bigger man when corporate law, possibly worth billions in royalties, are concerned.
There's no financial loss on Apple's behalf if people go to another appstore and first try (if they are that confused) to download an app for their iPhone. Amazon won't let you download an app without registering a device... and you can't register an iDevice.
The confusion - if there ever would be one - would be shortlived and have no financial consequences.
Also - I agree that app store is too generic to trademark. And Amazon clarifies by stating theirs is the Amazon App Store.
Good riddance to the lawsuit.
...more like, Apple had already essentially lost, so they decided to cut their losses and call it quits.
I love Apple products just as much as the next guy, but Apple was in no way being the "bigger man." If anything they were being the bigger **** by suing in the first place.
They have dropped the lawsuit because they knew that wouldn't be any victory, nothing more.
I disagree....I think Apple realized that they are going to loose on this one (as they should, I mean come one, trademarking something like App Store) and they walked away. I am wondering though if they realized that if this went to court, they would loose and were worried about the implications on other questionable patents and trademarks, such as a rectangle with rounded corners. (Again, that should not be allowed to be patented or trademarked).
great phrase
"IT IS SO ORDERED"
I will have to start using that in our household disagreements/settlements...
Is that a common law phrase?
"IT IS SO ORDERED"
I will have to start using that in our household disagreements/settlements...
Is that a common law phrase?
This looks like an Amazon win, which is no big surprise since the court rulings to date have seemed skeptical of Apple's argument that "app store" wasn't generic. I think in general we may see fewer lawsuits since they don't seem to be giving anyone much competitive advantage.
Nice spin. Of course Apple won. And what do you think Apple loss would mean in this case? The court banning Apple from using the term App Store? Or jailing Tim Cook?
Apple didn't patent a rectangle with rounded corners. People are overdoing that. They patented specific designs. Yes, some of the designs include rectangles with rounded corners in the description, but that doesn't mean that Apple patented all such designs. Samsung also has design patents on "rectangles with rounded corners," as do many others.
An interesting quirk in the order: Apple agreed to dismiss it's suit with prejudice, which means they can never bring the suit again in the future. However, Amazon merely agreed to dismiss it's counter-suit without prejudice, meaning it CAN bring it's claims again in the future. I wonder why Amazon required this and why Apple allowed it? Ordinarily cross-dismissals are both with prejudice unless there are unexpired terms of settlement (such as installment payments) for which a party may need to re-litigate upon default.
Hmm...
Hmm...
the case was dropped by apple so it's not a win. there was no ruling or verdict. in fact, if amazon really did win they could've countersued and now they agreed not to do so.
I disagree. The whole point of Apple suing was to get Amazon to not be able to use App Store. Ultimately, they failed in doing that. Now you can consider it Amazon's win or Apple's loss. Or you can just state that Apple no longer cares what Amazon calls their app store. Either way, Amazon succeeds in their desire to use the phrase.
Apple dropped this because they knew they'd lose. Apple are trying to get AppStore trademarked. If Apple continued down this lawsuit road, the case would have been lost as would AppStore trade mark.
If others now try using App Store, Apple would have to sue.... or potentially lose any hope of AppStore trademark.
If others now try using App Store, Apple would have to sue.... or potentially lose any hope of AppStore trademark.
Sure, in that sense.
But in the sense that countless headlines and stories across tech news sites and blogs have published and republished evidence that Amazon is unable to function in the app marketplace without copying the market leader's every move, even down to the name of its own store... well, I'm not so sure that's a win. Consumers notice that kind of copycat behavior and being branded the wannabe while your competitor is cast as the "original" is not a good thing.
If you think otherwise, ask yourself why Coke and Pepsi spend so much trying to prove to consumers that they're the market leader and the other is playing catch-up.
omg who the hell cares. Macrumors, please do us a favor, and don't open the comments on articles like these. There's really nothing to comment on. No new products or rumors, yet somehow I still see pointless arguments on this thread.
I have a question...
If Apple lost...why is that important in any way?
If Amazon won...why is that important in any way?
Please avoid, if possible, the "you have to protect intellectual property" argument. I'm not asking about any other lawsuit, case, or dispute. I'm not disputing whether intellectual property or patents should be defended (although I will admit I think most of the lawsuits are total horse pucky).
I'm just asking about the importance of winning or losing this particular case.
If Apple lost...why is that important in any way?
If Amazon won...why is that important in any way?
Please avoid, if possible, the "you have to protect intellectual property" argument. I'm not asking about any other lawsuit, case, or dispute. I'm not disputing whether intellectual property or patents should be defended (although I will admit I think most of the lawsuits are total horse pucky).
I'm just asking about the importance of winning or losing this particular case.
I doubt very much it would be invested into other projects. Apple has no issues with cash for projects. They would just add it to their massive cash reserve.
What customer cares. You can't buy Android apps via the Apple App Store and vice versa. A customer doesn't care what the store is even called. They just care if they can get the app they want...
Hi! Let me introduce you to my friend ZMacintosh. You two have a lot in common. ink... z, z... ink.
I cannot remember ever hearing anyone using the term "app" until Apple made it popular, despite evidence of the pre-existence of the term "application". As such, I don't think that the lawsuit was frivolous per se, as the "App Store" name seems to be a play on the App(le) Store theme and I don't remember the "app" term being so generic.
However, it is clear that the term is now ubiquitous and has nearly, if not completely replaced the one I was used to hearing (back in the day it was "programs", not "apps"), so Apple is doing the right thing walking away from this one.
They knew they were going to lose this lawsuit, and its pointless to waste any more money on it. This is all business. The litigation is just part of the game; everyone plays, and you win some, lose some.
By walking away, Apple effectively "lost" this one.
Regardless, I don't see this having any impact whatsoever on us customers, so for me, its a big "whoopteedoo".
However, it is clear that the term is now ubiquitous and has nearly, if not completely replaced the one I was used to hearing (back in the day it was "programs", not "apps"), so Apple is doing the right thing walking away from this one.
They knew they were going to lose this lawsuit, and its pointless to waste any more money on it. This is all business. The litigation is just part of the game; everyone plays, and you win some, lose some.
By walking away, Apple effectively "lost" this one.
Regardless, I don't see this having any impact whatsoever on us customers, so for me, its a big "whoopteedoo".
It's similar to professional sports. The people watching the game have nothing to do with if their favorite team wins or loses but they all say that they won when their favorite team wins.
Because when Apple wins, people who use Apple products think that they have won. When Google wins, people who use Google products think that they have won.
I don't say this as an insult. You must be new/young.
The term App has been around since back in the Palm Pilot days and even before then.