尽管亚马逊Android应用商店——Amazon Appstore还未上线就已赚足眼球，收获不少名气，但有消息称尚未登台的Amazon Appstore最近遇到了来自苹果的麻烦。

游戏邦获悉，苹果曾数次联系亚马逊，称该应用商店侵犯了“App Store”的商标权，但亚马逊并不予以理会。

amazon-app-store

据彭博社报道，苹果声称他们不得不采取实际行动，向加州法院提出起诉，要求亚马逊停用“Appstore”这个名称，并赔偿苹果的相关损失。

苹果在诉讼文件中表示，“亚马逊在其手机应用开发者项目中不当使用苹果App Store的标志……亚马逊非法使用App Store标志招揽全美应用开发商。”

尽管苹果声称Amazon Appstore将“误导用户”，但游戏邦认为这一说法仍然有待推敲，因为苹果目前仍在向美国专利商标局（USPTO）申请注册App Store这个商标，而且还没有准确的结果。

这几个月来，苹果一直在向USPTO递交材料，声称“App Store”已经成为用户普遍认同的苹果应用商店的代号。

但微软却对此说法持有异议，它向USPTO表示“App Store”实在是一个很通用的词语，它不应该被一家公司独占，不过有趣的是，微软自己的Windows Phone Marketplace却并不使用App Store这个名称，成功地避免了一场侵权风波。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Apple sues Amazon over alleged breach of ‘App Store’ trademark

Given Amazon’s moniker for its forthcoming Android marketplace – Amazon Appstore – has been known for some time now, news that Apple is only now suing the online retail giant just as the platform prepares to make its debut doesn’t look good.

It’s Apple’s assertion, however, that repeated attempts to contact Amazon in reference to what it believes it a breach of its ‘App Store’ trademark were, to all intents and purposes, ignored.

The name game

As a result, Bloomberg reports that Apple believes it’s been forced into taking such action, filing a complaint with a Californian court that seeks to both block Amazon’s use of the phrase, and reimburse Apple for damages.

“Amazon has begun improperly using Apple’s App Store mark in connection with Amazon’s mobile software developer program,” Apple said in its suit.

“Amazon has unlawfully used the App Store mark to solicit software developers throughout the United States.”

Same old story

It’s Apple’s belief that Amazon’s Appstore will “confuse and mislead customers”, though the strength of its argument rests on the same principle as the firm’s continuing claim on the name with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

For months now, Apple has made filings with the USPTO claiming that the term ‘App Store’ is universally understood to refer to the firm’s various app marketplaces with consumers.

Such assertions have been rebuffed by rival Microsoft, however, which has told the USPTO that it believes ‘App Store’ is far too generic to be reserved for one company alone, despite it’s own Windows Phone Marketplace successfully avoiding using the name.（source:pocketgamer）