App Store - What's In A Name?

For Apple, it appears to mean everything to them for their App Store.

Ever since Amazon came out with it's App Store, Apple has been at odds with them for name recognition and attempting to confuse the consumer public. Apple seems to be in a mindset of using the courts to protect their products and as such, they continue that activity against Amazon. All of this began back when Amazon created the AppStore for Android, which Apple objected to because of the similarity in the name. But when they dropped the "For Android", it changed this to the Amazon AppStore versus the Apple App Store. The similarity between the 2 names is too much for Apple.

Apple filed its complaint back in March of 2011 at the time that Amazon launched its Android store which they were calling "Amazon Appstore for Android". There was a lot of press about the competition which Amazon was creating between Google and itself. And that competition was sure to confuse consumers as to where to go and get Android Apps. The court filing by Apple seems to have gotten drowned out in all the focus between Amazon and Android.

Since that time, Apple has amended the complaint in November 2011 to expand it when Amazon dropped the "for Android" from their store name. You can see that on their site and elsewhere. It is with this change, that Apple became concerned about the blurring of the name to further confuse the public. Amazon and Apple both sell music and apps under very similar store names. The difference between AppStore and App Store may get lost for most of the population.

The similarities in the names has Apple concerned and they have done the normal method of attacking the competition through the courts. They do make some valid points in the current suit against Amazon. One is the logos that each is using. And if you look at each of them from each company for their app store, they do look somewhat similar, though lawyers would probably argue otherwise.

In the most recent court actions, Apple is asking Amazon to produce an executive who has knowledge of the name change. They want to find out the reasons behind the dropping of "for Android" from the name and grill them to see if the intent was to confuse consumers between Apple and Amazon.

"As such, evidence suggesting that the name of Amazon's Service is actually 'Amazon Appstore,' or at least that Amazon has consciously chosen to cease or minimize the use of 'for Android' with its mark, is highly relevant to Apple's offensive case," Apple said.

All of this gets down to what is in a name? For Apple, it is everything to them and may well mean lost sales to Amazon because of the similar name and logo being used by Amazon. Recent information suggests that Apple should be concerned about protecting their market and trademarks as well.

It seems that Amazon revenue per user as compared to Apple revenue per user in the app stores is way too close for Apple to be ignoring. While Apple is still the king for apps, Amazon is generating 89% of what Apple generates per user in the app store. And that number is too close for Apple and means they are potentially going to lose some business. Or even worse, defectors from the iPhone to Android smart phones. That is something which Apple has to do everything to protect. It is a battle which they must not lose.

For Apple, the name and logo for their App Store must be preserved to protect their interests, product lines and profit. While this is just another lawsuit to protect their interests, this one seems to be one which if they lose, could impact their future.