Skip to main content

Microsoft challenges Apple’s ‘App Store’ trademark

Mac App StoreMicrosoft won’t let Apple have its “App Store” trademark without first putting up a fight. Earlier this week, Microsoft filed a motion with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office calling the “App Store” name too generic and restrictive.

Apple first applied for the trademark in 2008, shortly after launching the App Store for the iPhone. Microsoft is now seeking to thwart Apple’s claim to the “App Store” name.

“An ‘app store’ is an ‘app store’,” Russell Pangborn, Microsoft’s associate general counsel, told the BBC. “Like ‘shoe store’ or ‘toy store’, it is a generic term that is commonly used by companies, governments and individuals that offer apps.”

“The term ‘app store’ should continue to be available for use by all without fear of reprisal by Apple,” he went on.

There have been several virtual app retail places to crop up since Apple launched its App Store in July of 2008. All are considered to be “app stores,” but all have avoided being officially titled as such — perhaps due to Apple’s trademark request. There’s currently the Android Market for Google’s Android OS devices, the Ovi Store for Nokia handsets, App World for BlackBerrys,  and Microsoft’s own Windows Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 devices. Amazon is also planning on launching its own app store.

It’s not clear why Microsoft has waited until now to press its issue with Apple’s trademark, but you can bet Microsoft is none too happy about Apple cementing its hold on the “App Store” trademark with its latest app retail store, the Mac App Store, which launched last week.

Editors' Recommendations

Aemon Malone
Former Digital Trends Contributor
The Apple Vision Pro app situation: the good, the bad, and the ugly
A man wearing the Vision Pro using floating keyboard while looking at virtual screens.

With Apple’s Vision Pro headset almost upon us, a lot of questions are being asked about the apps it will have when it launches. How many there will be? What will they be like to use. Are big-name developers are getting on board? We’ve all been wondering what Apple has got in store for us.

It’s not all a total mystery, though. With just a week before the Vision Pro starts arriving in people’s hands, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of the headset’s app situation. Some of it sounds exciting and some of it could be downright ugly -- but if Apple hopes to build a new platform out of the Vision Pro, app support will be key.
The good: 3D movies, iPad apps

Read more
All the apps that will be available for the Vision Pro
A mixed reality view of the Apple Vision Pro App Store.

Apple's Vision Pro is arriving soon, and early adopters will be interested in learning what they can do with this exciting new spatial computer. With a powerful Apple M2 processor, immersive 4K-per-eye displays, and multiple cameras for tracking your eyes and hands, there's unlimited space for viewing and interacting with screens and 3D content.

But in the end, it will always be the apps that show off the abilities of a device like the Vision Pro. While we don't have a complete list yet, I've compiled a list of the apps that Apple bundles with the Vision Pro and some third-party apps that will soon be available.
Preinstalled Vision Pro apps
The Apple Vision Pro home screen shows apps over your surroundings. Apple

Read more
This is what Apple’s in-store Vision Pro demo will likely be like
A person wears an Apple Vision Pro headset. Their eyes are visible through the front of the device.

Anyone interested in buying Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset will be encouraged to sign up for an in-store demonstration of the device so that Apple can ensure they have the best possible experience with it from the very beginning.

The tech giant is about to launch its most important product since the Apple Watch in 2015, and with many people never having gone near such a device, Apple wants to ensure that the initial experience with the Vision Pro is as good as it can be.

Read more