Microsoft has had enough of Apple’s bogarting of the term ‘App Store’ and has issued a legal challenge to assert that it should not be covered by a trademark.
Presumably tired of calling its application portal the Windows Phone 7 App Marketplace, Microsoft reckons it’s well within its rights to pinch App Store from Apple without fear of legal reprisals.
The Big M’s lawyers say in the filing: "Any secondary meaning or fame Apple has in ‘App Store’ is de facto secondary meaning that cannot convert the generic term ‘app store’ into a protectable trademark.
"Apple cannot block competitors from using a generic name. ‘App store’ is generic and therefore in the public domain and free for all competitors to use."
Not so, say Apple. They reckon that the term App Store derives from Apple, and that their trademark is protected. This will be an interesting one. We’ll have more on this when the situation develops.
Link: CrunchGear
Posted by Chris Smith
