Trademark Infringement? There’s An App for That!

Despite its considerable success—and a host of imitators—Apple’s iTunes App Store has had its share of black eyes, ranging from vague approval requirements that have the company refusing to distribute developers’ wares to blocking applications because they can access content Apple deems objectionable. (The latest example of the latter: Eucalyptus, an e-book reader Apple initially rejected because it could access the Kama Sutra via Project Gutenberg. Apple has since reversed its stance and the Eucalyptus is now available.) But last week the App Store briefly got into a new fracas: luxury goods maker Cartier filed suit against Apple for offering two applications the company claimed infringed on its Tank watch trademark.

According to Cartier, two applications on the App Store—”Fake Watch” and “Fake Watch Gold Edition” from Bangkok’s Digitopolis—infringed on the trademark for its high-end Tank luxury watches, which the company has been using since 1918. The “Fake Watch” app was free, while the “Gold Edition” was available for a fee; Cartier alleged Apple was profiting from the applications both through the sale of the Gold Edition (Apple pockets 30 percent of every app sale) as well as through advertising in the free edition.

Apple has since removed the applications from the iTunes App Store, and Cartier has withdrawn its complaint.

It’s not the first time Apple has been sued over third-party applications: last month, Apple was targeted by child welfare groups objecting to the sale of a game in which players silenced a crying baby by shaking the phone. Apple took down the game and apologized.

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