Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
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Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
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Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#2I remember the days when "apps" and "progs" were little programs you found on Astalivista to open your friend's CD-Rom drive through AOL instant messenger. Would that fly as an argument for Amazon in a court of law? Probably not, but it's fun to reminisce about.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#3I wonder how Apple will counter the statement that Jobs made about the multiple app stores on Android. It seeks as he already used it as a generic term.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#4I remember the days when "apps" and "progs" were little programs you found on Astalivista to open your friend's CD-Rom drive through AOL instant messenger. Would that fly as an argument for Amazon in a court of law? Probably not, but it's fun to reminisce about.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that kind of backup Amazon's claims of the term "app" being generic - whether you think those old apps were worthy of the current term or not? I've used the term app for as long as I can remember. Apple certainly did not coin it. Now, if it was for "App Store", as a term, then I could see that.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#5I remember the days when "apps" and "progs" were little programs you found on Astalivista to open your friend's CD-Rom drive through AOL instant messenger. Would that fly as an argument for Amazon in a court of law? Probably not, but it's fun to reminisce about.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that kind of backup Amazon's claims of the term "app" being generic - whether you think those old apps were worthy of the current term or not? I've used the term app for as long as I can remember. Apple certainly did not coin it. Now, if it was for "App Store", as a term, then I could see that.
Yes, it would help show that the term "app" is generic, but that isn't really Amazon's claim. It's a bit more subtle than that. They are claiming that "app store" is a generic term for a store that sells downloadable applications. Apple isn't denying that either "app" or "store" are generic, but rather that the combination into "app store" has specific meaning when applied to the realm of applications that provide a digital storefront to sell additional applications. They might even have a case here, as these kinds of trademark things usually come down to whether or not the public associates the term with a specific source. Basically, it would be considered unfair for Amazon to use the term "app store" if it has a connection to Apple in the public mind, because that would mean that Amazon is technically trading on Apple's reputation. That's what the law would seek to protect, and that might be how Apple could win this case.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#6I wonder how Apple will counter the statement that Jobs made about the multiple app stores on Android. It seeks as he already used it as a generic term.
Same way I'd respond if I was the CEO of Johnson and Johnson and used BandAid when I should have said self-adhesive bandage (or plaster[1]): We own the mark and use the mark so frequently to describe our product that it was a reasonable slip when discussing entities that certainly are similar to the thing our mark describes.
[1] Completely unrelated: My first trip to England, I had to buy some Doc Martins from THE Doc Martin store (bucket list kind of thing :). So I'm walking around a lot in them as I schlep around the Midlands and Yorkshire for various meetings and some site seeing, and I've managed to generate some very uncomfortable blisters. I need a BandAid...err...self-adhesive bandage.
It's off to the hotel desk in Leeds, "Do you have any BandAids?"
"Any what?"
"BandAids", I'm now catching on that maybe J&J isn't big here as I see his confused look. I decide to go generic, "Self-adhesive bandages?"
The confused look remains. At some point he gets a really pathetic first aid kit without any BandAids in it. I'm now wondering if the UK's medical system was to blame for a country not having self-adhesive bandages. I quickly drop the probability on that to very low, but don't fully eliminate it.
I decide it's time to leave the hotel and go where I'm sure I'll find one. "Can you tell me where a drug store is nearby?"
Doh. I eventually get pointed to the Chemist.
I get there and finally find my BandAids: Plasters? Really? I guess it goes with bendy-busses and the like.
Now one more thing. The feet are hurting and some Tylenol would help. Of course there is no Tylenol. I start reading the ingredients, I know acetaminophen must be in one of these.
And, of course not. Why didn't I know it was called paracetamol?
Needless to say, my US centric view of the world was shattered over the course of those 45 minutes.
...and by the time I finished this story, nobody would care that I used BandAid once to describe a self-adhesive bandage.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#7I wonder how Apple will counter the statement that Jobs made about the multiple app stores on Android. It seeks as he already used it as a generic term.
Same way I'd respond if I was the CEO of Johnson and Johnson and used BandAid when I should have said self-adhesive bandage (or plaster[1]): We own the mark and use the mark so frequently to describe our product that it was a reasonable slip when discussing entities that certainly are similar to the thing our mark describes. [1] Completely unrelated: My first trip to England, I had to buy some Doc Martins from THE Do…
The "Drug Store" part cracked me up. Thank you.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#8I wonder how Apple will counter the statement that Jobs made about the multiple app stores on Android. It seeks as he already used it as a generic term.
I think we have to distinguish between a term being ubiquitous and generic. I know it's fairly common for someone in the US to refer to a tissue as a Kleenex but that doesn't mean other tissue brands can market their goods under that same title.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#9I wonder how Apple will counter the statement that Jobs made about the multiple app stores on Android. It seeks as he already used it as a generic term.
Same way I'd respond if I was the CEO of Johnson and Johnson and used BandAid when I should have said self-adhesive bandage (or plaster[1]): We own the mark and use the mark so frequently to describe our product that it was a reasonable slip when discussing entities that certainly are similar to the thing our mark describes. [1] Completely unrelated: My first trip to England, I had to buy some Doc Martins from THE Do…
Paracetamol is the generic drug name all over the world, only the US, Canada, Japan, South-Korea, and Hong Kong uses acetaminophen. Although in Canada they know what paracetamol is at least!
So as a Dutch person I was at a pharmacy asking for paracetamol and off course the person behind the counter has absolutely no idea what I am talking about.
And directed me to Aleve (naproxen sodium) and Advil (Ibuprofen) and Bayers (Asparin) all of which are NSAID's which can't be taken with certain drugs, and for some reason they are not nearly as effective.
It bothered me to no end that the pharmacist had never heard of paracetamol, especially since you have to consider that as a pharmacist you will come in contact with people from all sorts of nationalities.
Re: Apple Denies Amazon’s Claim That ‘App Store’ Is Generic Term
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that kind of backup Amazon's claims of the term "app" being generic - whether you think those old apps were worthy of the current term or not? I've used the term app for as long as I can remember. Apple certainly did not coin it. Now, if it was for "App Store", as a term, then I could see that.
Yes, it would help show that the term "app" is generic, but that isn't really Amazon's claim. It's a bit more subtle than that. They are claiming that "app store" is a generic term for a store that sells downloadable applications. Apple isn't denying that either "app" or "store" are generic, but rather that the combination into "app store" has specific meaning when applied to the realm of applications that provide a…
What I really don't understand is how Apple can do this due to the face that Amazon won't (and can't) sell any "Apple app store apps" on their store, so they won't be a competitor. For me it's if a company that produces patches to repair bicycle tubes called their product for "band aid", same idea but different markets.