While Apple has failed to stop Amazon from using the word “Appstore” in the United States, it has managed to do so in, of all places, Germany. Yes, Germany.
In addition, Apple has successfully asked a court for an injunction, forcing Amazon to no longer able to accept new applications from German developers who were looking for a place to sell their application outside of the official Marketplace.
According to Dan Frommer, Amazon has sent an email alerting them to the legal action from Apple:
Subject: Important Notice for Germany Based Developers
Dear Amazon Appstore Developer,
Thank you for your participation in the Amazon Appstore for Android. We wanted to notify you of a recent change to your Developer Portal account; for the time being, we are not accepting new app submissions from developers located in Germany. We have been forced to impose this restriction due to a legal action filed by Apple in Germany seeking to prevent us from using the term “appstore.” We believe Apple’s claim is without merit and are actively contesting it.
When you log into your Developer Portal account, you will notice that the options to add new apps have been removed. We hope to begin accepting new apps from German developers again soon and will notify you as soon as we are able to do so.
We appreciate your patience and your continued interest in the Amazon Appstore for Android.
Thank you,
Amazon Appstore Account Team
So yes, Apple has decided to stop Amazon from using the term “Appstore” to describe its Amazon App Store by preventing them to accept applications from German developers who do not want or could not sell their application on the Android Marketplace. All for one word, the “Appstore”.
Really, Apple? Really?
For those not in the know, Amazon recently announced their App Store for the Android platform as an alternative to the Google Android Marketplace, so those who have applications that were not able to be accepted by Google could sell their app in another trusted marketplace. However, Amazon decided to name it the “Amazon App Store”, causing all of this hoopla from Cupertino over the term “App Store”.
Yes, a simple term has managed to piss Apple off, which in turn made Microsoft pissed off over Apple’s retaliation over the term App Store. Thankfully, the court denied its request.
Oh, and just to appease (or, knowing my history with fanboy outrages, inflame) the Apple fanboys (such as James), here’s an explanation on the question on “Why can Microsoft own the trademarks Windows and Office, then?”
Well, it’s because, unlike the Appstore trademark, it was limited to the specific product. Windows is generic, yes, but Microsoft only filed the trademark for use on computers, not for all windows (the one you put in houses, made out of glass). Same goes for Office. That’s a very big difference. Why do you think Apple can keep the term “Macintosh” or “Mac”, despite it being a name of someone. It’s because it’s focused on computers.
So essentially, what I’m trying to get out of this is to say – f**k you Apple.