Apple Sues Amazon for Using Their Stuff
posted Saturday Mar 26, 2011 by Scott Ertz
It didn't take long for the Amazon Appstore to come under fire from Apple for the name of their new service. Back in 2008, Apple filed for a trademark on the name "App Store" and somehow were granted the trademark. Since then, whenever someone comes close or wants to come close, a lawsuit ensues. Microsoft has filed a complain with the patent office and is awaiting a hearing as we speak.
Apple, on the other hand, took action against their newest rival, Amazon, for the use of the name. Their claim, as it always is with trademark infringement, was,
Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple.
Wait, how could someone get confused about whether or not Apple endorses an Android marketplace? Hit the break to find out.
They can't, unless they are short bus special. What is actually happening here is that Apple and Amazon are competing in a lot of the same markets all of a sudden, between renting videos to selling music and eBooks, it is a very joint market they operate in. This has created a lot of Google-style competition between the two organizations. Apple sees this as an opportunity to steal the focus from Amazon at a time when they really need it and divert resources away from their new pet project.
As we know, this is not a new tactic for Apple. They love to drive attention in the direction they want it to go however they need to. Want to launch a netbook in a market crowded with netbooks? Tell the media that netbooks are a worthless piece of technology. Want to launch a tablet? Tell the media no one would ever want to purchase a tablet. Want to ruin a competitor? Sue them in a very public setting for something semi-generic. Who cares if you probably won't win? So the names are similar - but Amazon's doesn't have a space or a capital s. Close enough for the goal. All you need is an opportunity to get out in public and say,
We've asked Amazon not to copy the App Store name because it will confuse and mislead customers.
Now you're the underdog who is only trying to protect the more than $200 billion your company is currently valued at. Shame on Amazon for being such meanies!
