trademark

Apple lawsuit presumed to target counterfeit stores

Those look-alike Apple retail stores that have been gaining attention over the past month? They appear to have caught the eye of Apple too.

In a trademark infringement lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, Apple has taken aim at three companies and some 52 other individuals. One of those is Apple Story Inc., believed to be the match of a similarly named Apple retail look-alike in Flushing, New York.

The details of the case, which was found by AppleInsider today, are unknown since it remains sealed for all except … Read more

Apple loses bid for injunction against Amazon

A federal judge has denied Apple's request to immediately stop Amazon from using the term "Appstore" to describe its digital downloads storefront.

In an 18-page opinion filed today with the U.S. District Court for Northern California, Judge Phyllis Hamilton denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction preventing Amazon's use of the term, which Apple claims it has trademark rights to. As expected, Hamilton ruled that Apple had not established the likelihood of confusion between the competing brands, but she also said she did not agree with Amazon's contention that the mark is purely … Read more

Judge likely to deny Apple's 'Appstore' complaint

Apple's quest to keep competitor Amazon from using the name "Appstore" for its digital downloads storefront could soon be hitting a roadblock.

Bloomberg reports that U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton--who is presiding over Apple's case against Amazon--said she'll "probably" deny Apple's motion that seeks to bar the Web retailer from using the "Appstore" name. The reasoning there, Hamilton explained during a hearing today, was that Apple's primary argument of the store's name confusing customers lacked evidence.

"I'm troubled by the showing that you've made … Read more

Apple sued over its use of 'iBook'

A New York book publisher has filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming its use of the term "iBook" violates the publisher's trademark, the second trademark infringement suit filed against the tech giant in less than a week.

The suit, filed yesterday by J.T. Colby and Co. in U.S. Southern District Court for New York, claims the trademark was acquired in 2006 and 2007 along with various assets of Byron Preiss, who had published more than 1,000 books under the "ibooks" brand starting in 1999.

Colby's suit acknowledges that Apple has a … Read more

Apple sued over use of iCloud name

An Arizona company has sued Apple over its use of the iCloud name, claiming the tech giant's use of it infringes on its trademark.

iCloud Communications, a Phoenix-based voice over IP provider, alleges that the name of Apple's recently announced online storage service copies its name and causes confusion over competing products:

The goods and services with which Apple intends to use the "iCloud" mark are identical to or closely related to the goods and services that have been offered by iCloud Communications under the iCloud Marks since its formation in 2005. However, due to the … Read more

Apple: 'App Store' not a generic term

In an ongoing legal battle over its App Store trademark, Apple has hit back at Amazon.com, denying Amazon's claim that "App Store" is a generic term.

In papers filed in federal court yesterday, Apple said it "denies that the mark APP STORE is generic and, on that basis, denies that the Amazon Appstore for Android service is an 'app store.'"

Apple also told the court that it does not believe "the words 'app store' together denote a store for apps," or that "the words 'app store' are commonly used among many … Read more

Microsoft taps linguist in 'App Store' trademark spat

Microsoft has once again filed opposition to Apple's efforts to trademark the phrase "App Store."

In a new reply filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to get Apple's trademark application refused, Microsoft rebutted Apple's rebuttal from earlier this month. This is the same one Microsoft knocked for breaking the rules by being too long and using a smaller font size to get in more of an argument.

"The undisputed facts establish that 'app store' means exactly what it says, a store offering apps, and is generic for the retail store services … Read more

Apple sends adult app store cease-and-desist order

Apple has fired another legal salvo over the use of the term "app store," this one targeted at adult app store MiKandi.

Last week, MiKandi received a cease-and-desist order from Apple over the use of the term "app store," company co-founder Jennifer McEwen confirmed today to CNET.

In an interview with GeekWire published yesterday, fellow MiKandi co-founder Jesse Adams said that Apple specifically asked the company to stop billing itself as the "world's first app store for adults" and to stop using the term "app store" in describing its own free … Read more

Google to crack down further on ads for fake goods

Google is promising a few improvements to its online ad system to help stop the spate of advertisers hawking counterfeit items.

In a blog posted yesterday, the search giant tallied the number of advertisers using AdWords at more than 1 million spread across at least 190 different countries. As a result, finding specific accounts that advertise phony products can be a challenge. Google was able to shut down around 50,000 such accounts just in the second half of 2010, but the company admits that more needs to be done.

To help stop the proliferation of fake items sold through … Read more