Amazon Asks Court|to Toss Apple Claim

(CN) - Amazon.com asked a California federal judge to reject Apple's claim that the online retail giant's use of the term "appstore" is a case of false advertising.

Apple's lawsuit, filed in March 2011, alleges that Amazon.com's use of the name "Amazon Appstore" violates its App Store trademark. Last November, Apple amended the complaint to include allegations that the use of "Appstore" amounts to false advertising and could confuse consumers into believing the Amazon Appstore is related to or sponsored by Apple.

Amazon argued in a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland on Wednesday that the term has become so generic that it isn't misleading, and cited Apple's own CEOs referring to their competitors' stores as app stores.

"For example, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs touted the superiority of Apple's 'integrated app store' in comparison to what he described as 'the four app stores on Android'," the court filing stated.

Amazon also cited current CEO Tim Cook talking about "the number of app stores out there" in reference to non-Apple marketplaces.

"Apple presumably does not contend that its past and present CEOs made false statements regarding those other app stores to thousands of investors in earning calls. To the contrary, the term 'app store' to refer to stores selling apps is commonplace in the industry and not a false statement," Amazon said.

A false advertising claim does not stand, according to Amazon, because Apple has not identified a single false statement that Amazon has made about the Amazon Appstore in its advertising.

"The word 'Appstore' is part of the name of Amazon's store; it is not a statement about the nature, characteristics, or qualities of Amazon's store, much less a false one," the filing stated. Amazon said that Apple's arguments lie in the trademark arena, and not in false advertising. Amazon is requesting that the court grant a summary judgment for Amazon on Apple's false advertising claim.

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