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Amazon seeks to throw out Apple 'app store' claim

27 points by ekm2 14y ago

mmuro 14y ago
It's "commonplace" after Apple started using it.
- Karunamon 14y ago
  Oh please. An app store is a generic name of a place where you buy apps. And "app" has been around long before there was such a thing as an iAnything. There aren't really a lot of synonyms for a place where you buy things. Store and marketplace are the two obvious ones.
  - mistercow 14y ago
    >Store and marketplace are the two obvious ones. Well, and "shop" and "mart". Still, even if we branch out to a few less obvious ones, we're looking at a few dozen possible names at most, and some of them are ridiculous like "The Software Application Emporium", and oh man hold on I have to run over to the trademark office real quick.
  - cocoalovethax 14y ago
    The term app was first used by Apple since at least the early 80's and even Mac OS X and iOS(and NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP) use".app" as the extension for applications. Steve Jobs was using the term "app" long, long before it was popular.
- nailer 14y ago
  I'm sure Click n' Run, Handango, and other places where apps were sold for a particular platform were called 'app stores' at some point.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  "Escalator" became commonplace after Otis started using it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rig...
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jacalata 14y ago
Hilariously, the first related headline: "Facebook seeks to open own app store"
mistercow 14y ago
>with Cook having commented on "the number of app stores out there" and Jobs referring to the "four app stores on Android." See, this is why, if you want to sue people, you run your public statements by your legal team.
stevenajackson 14y ago
apple, aapl, app
- tomrod 14y ago
  So much nope here. A company can trademark its name. It ought to not be able to trademark syllables used in its name, regardless of past case history (e.g. McDonalds, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald‘s_legal_cases#Trademark_and_copyright http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald‘s_legal_case...).
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mratzloff 14y ago
This green monstrosity is an NBC News website? Anyway, this trademark should be thrown out--it's more confusing to assert that an "App Store" is Apple-only.
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
  Look at the very top-right of the site.

27 points by ekm2 14y ago

mmuro 14y ago

It's "commonplace" after Apple started using it.

Karunamon 14y ago
Oh please. An app store is a generic name of a place where you buy apps. And "app" has been around long before there was such a thing as an iAnything. There aren't really a lot of synonyms for a place where you buy things. Store and marketplace are the two obvious ones.
- mistercow 14y ago
  >Store and marketplace are the two obvious ones. Well, and "shop" and "mart". Still, even if we branch out to a few less obvious ones, we're looking at a few dozen possible names at most, and some of them are ridiculous like "The Software Application Emporium", and oh man hold on I have to run over to the trademark office real quick.
- cocoalovethax 14y ago
  The term app was first used by Apple since at least the early 80's and even Mac OS X and iOS(and NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP) use".app" as the extension for applications. Steve Jobs was using the term "app" long, long before it was popular.
nailer 14y ago
I'm sure Click n' Run, Handango, and other places where apps were sold for a particular platform were called 'app stores' at some point.
jlgreco 14y ago
"Escalator" became commonplace after Otis started using it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator#Loss_of_trademark_rig...
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

jacalata 14y ago

Hilariously, the first related headline: "Facebook seeks to open own app store"

mistercow 14y ago

>with Cook having commented on "the number of app stores out there" and Jobs referring to the "four app stores on Android." See, this is why, if you want to sue people, you run your public statements by your legal team.

stevenajackson 14y ago

apple, aapl, app

tomrod 14y ago
So much nope here. A company can trademark its name. It ought to not be able to trademark syllables used in its name, regardless of past case history (e.g. McDonalds, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald‘s_legal_cases#Trademark_and_copyright http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald‘s_legal_case...).
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  [deleted]
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mratzloff 14y ago

This green monstrosity is an NBC News website? Anyway, this trademark should be thrown out--it's more confusing to assert that an "App Store" is Apple-only.

TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
Look at the very top-right of the site.