Apple Amazon App Store: Apple, Amazon, and the ‘App Store’ Drama

To put it mildly, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) does not like the fact that Amazon is using the term “app store.” In fact, the company is so upset that it hit the online retail giant with a trademark infringement suit.

Bloomberg is reporting that the two companies have been ordered to discuss a settlement, as opposed to continue to drag things out.

Here is a brief excerpt from the article:

“Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. were ordered to hold settlement talks to try to resolve the iPhone maker’s trademark infringement suit over the online retailer’s use of the term app store.”

When the court speaks everybody must listen. And that is exactly what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon are doing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte is in charge of the case, and she has requested representation for both sides to get together on March 21.

Even though a trial is scheduled for August, it is easy to see that Laporte is not interested in letting things drag out that long. If at all possible, she would like both sides to settle in March. The Bloomberg article adds:

“U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte in San Francisco directed the companies to confer on March 21 and to bring their lead attorneys and people who have full authority to negotiate and settle the case, according to a court filing today. A trial is scheduled for August.”

In other words, she wants both parties to be fully prepared to move forward with negotiations.

Even if you don’t know the full background surrounding the case, it is easy to see that there is bad blood between the two companies regarding the use of the term “app store.”

Here is the basic argument for both sides, in generic terms: