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> Is it just me, or is this actually a good argument /for/ Apple owning the term "App Store"? People keep making the claim "it is an obvious name", but apparent
by ggchappell 15y ago
> Is it just me, or is this actually a good argument /for/ Apple owning the term "App Store"? People keep making the claim "it is an obvious name", but apparently it wasn't for GetJar: it wasn't until Apple gave that term meaning by applying it to their product that GetJar decided to use the term.
It's a good argument for the term "app store" being original with Apple. However, being the first one to use a term, does not mean you "own" it.
Under the law, one can register a trademark, which gives one exclusive rights to the term under certain restricted conditions. However, as the article points out, Apple did not get a trademark free & clear.
- saurik 15y agoObviously, I mean in the restricted area of "term used to describe a software product or service", and "under the law" you don't need to successfully register a trademark for that (although trying and actively failing to register the mark will make your life very difficult in court); also, I feel like you are putting too much emphasis on the word "own" here as if I was going for some technical definition, as opposed to "when people think of that word, they immediately associate with Apple's App Store" (which really is all that trademarks really come down to: whether there would be viable confusion in the market if other people co-opted the name).
- sunchild 15y agoThe test is whether a mark has "secondary meaning". http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm