‘App store’ Trademark Under Fire

Those of you who have been paying attention to the trademark laws in the U.S. know how ridiculous dispute cases in this area have become. Just a couple of months ago, Apple started going after Amazon for using the term Appstore for its Android market. At the time, Apple claimed that the term could cause confusion for customers:

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� Read more:

Microsoft, HTC, and Nokia are not giving up the fight that easily. They have joined Amazon in challenging Apple’s trademark for that term in Europe. I have always thought the term “app store” is too generic to be trademarked. But certain companies have tried to trademark the word “book.” Let’s face it. The term App Store does have a very nice ring to it and much easier for app shoppers to relate to than “Android Market” and other terms used for these types of stores.

Today’s filings by HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Microsoft, like Amazon’s recent action, demonstrate the breadth of opposition to Apple’s unsupportable claim of exclusivity… ‘App store,’ like ‘toy store’ or ‘book store,’ is a generic term that should continue to be available for everyone to use for stores that sell apps,

said a Microsoft representative. There is a great chance Apple will not give up on this fight that easily. In a sane world, this case would be clear cut. But these days you never know how these types of lawsuits will turn out. For one thing, Amazon is still using the term Appstore.

Who do you think is right? Is the term App Store too generic?