Apple Lawsuit Drives Amazon to Stop App Submissions in Germany

Apple might not have seen much legal success in its trademark battle against Amazon over the use of the phrase "App Store." But that's only if you're looking at Apple's attempts to keep "App Store" all to itself within the United States.
According to a recently emailed message from Amazon, the company has decided to stop accepting new application submissions in Germany as a direct result of Apple's legal actions. And there's no indication as to when Amazon might flip the switch back on, save for the note that Amazon plans to fight Apple's claims with great vigor.

"We have been forced to impose this restriction due to a legal action filed by Apple in Germany seeking to prevent us from using the term "appstore." We believe Apple's claim is without merit and are actively contesting it," reads Amazon's email.
"When you log into your Developer Portal account, you will notice that the options to add new apps have been removed. We hope to begin accepting new apps from German developers again soon and will notify you as soon as we are able to do so."


Apple hasn't been so lucky in its attempts to block Amazon from using the term "App Store" in the United States. A federal judge in Oakland, California denied the company's request for a preliminary injunction against Amazon, ruling in early June that Apple failed to demonstrate a "likelihood of success" for its claims.
"The court does not agree with Amazon that the mark is purely generic, for the reasons argued by Apple, but also does not find that Apple has shown that the mark is suggestive, as there appears to be no need for a leap of imagination to understand what the term means," wrote U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton.
"Apple speculates that Amazon's App Store will allow inappropriate content, viruses, or malware to enter the market, but it is not clear how that will harm Apple's reputation, since Amazon does not offer apps for Apple devices," she added.
The U.S. trial of Apple Inc. v. Amazon.com is expected to launch in October of 2012. That gives Apple plenty of time to contest its trademark in other international venues where Amazon does business–which country will next force Amazon to pull its app submissions?
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