Apple and Amazon Ordered to Find a Settlement in App Store Trademark Dispute

Published on: 17th Jan 2013

­Apple and Amazon have been ordered to hold fresh talks to try and settle their long running trademark dispute over the term "App Store".

The two sides are due to go to court in August after Apple claimed that the term App Store is its trademark and Amazon's Android only AppStore was trademark infringement. Apple has already lost an attempt to secure a summary judgment when the court decided that there couldn't be confusion between the two products as Amazon doesn't sell Apple apps.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte has now ordered the two companies to meet next month with their lead attorneys and people who have full authority to negotiate and settle the case.

Apple's claim that the term App Store is not generic was undermined by comments by its own CEO, Tim Cook who used the term in a generic manner in email conversations that were released to the court.

The case is Apple Inc. v. Amazon.com, 11-01327, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

 

Tags: [apple]  [amazon]  [app store]  [USA]