A legal battle is brewing between Microsoft and Apple.
While there’s nothing new about lawsuits and patent claims generating heated rhetoric in the competitive mobile space, Apple is making big waves (even for Apple) in its ongoing effort to secure a trademark for the term “app store.”
Despite Apple’s initial trademark play some three years ago, only on Tuesday did Microsoft file a motion for a summary judgment which would effectively prevent Apple from securing the controversial trademark that was first sought by Apple in 2008.
In the filing, Microsoft argues against Apple’s move to secure the trademark claiming that “‘app store’ is generic for retail store services featuring apps and unregistrable for ancillary services such as searching for and downloading apps from such stores.”
Nonetheless, Apple feels justified in pursuing its legal ownership of “App Store,” which many believe is, indeed, a vague catch-all designation for any digital storefront for mobile applications.
According to PC World, the status page for Apple’s trademark request now reads: “an opposition is now pending.”
Legal analysts who have weighed in on the matter contend that Apple’s possession of the “app store” trademark could broadly impact the mobile community, where numerous brands and tech giants have either already launched app stores of their own or continue to actively develop them.
