Apple will probably lose its court battle to stop Amazon using the term ‘Appstore’ for its Android downloads service, according to the federal judge in charge of the case.
U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said that she would ‘probably’ deny the motion although she would review court filings before reaching a final decision. Apple, she said, had not demonstrated ‘real evidence of actual confusion’ and that failure was a ‘stumbling block for Apple.’
Apple filed the motion after Amazon launched its Appstore in March. At the time, Apple spokeswoman, Kristin Huhuet said ‘It will confuse and mislead customers.’ Amazon claimed that the term was generic, a view also held by Microsoft, and that it therefore has the right to use it.
Apple is currently in the process of attempting to trademark the App Store name and has filed an application with US authorities. Microsoft has asked for the trademark application to be rejected. It claims that App Store is a generic term that is ‘commonly used by companies, governments and individuals that offer apps.’
Amazon’s Appstore is currently only available to US customers on amazon.com.
