The war over the “App Store” name is far from over, but Amazon’s been granted a small reprieve by a U.S judge, having denied Apple from requesting a preliminary injunction on the use of the term.
In March, the maker of best-selling iPhones and iPad tablets filed a trademark lawsuit saying that Amazon has improperly used Apple’s App Store name to “confuse and mislead customers.”
Apple also asked a federal judge in Oakland, California for a preliminary injunction to stop Amazon from using the name, which it says is trademark protected. However, Amazon argued that the term is generic and therefore can’t be protected.
Though the judge didn’t agree with Amazon’s claims that “Appstore” – without a space, as they phrase it – is generic, the judge did tell Apple they haven’t established a “likelihood of confusion” with Amazon’s services to get an injunction.
It’s been almost four months since Amazon’s Appstore launched, but it doesn’t look like a decision will be made anytime soon, with a trial date set for October. Yes, we can expect to see more of the legal shenanigans between the two tech titans in the future, but for now, Amazon’s Appstore can keep its incredibly original name.
