Apple sues Amazon over App Store

Apple sued Amazon.com to stop it from improperly using Apples App Store trademark.

Apple sued Amazon.com in a bid to stop the online retailer from improperly using Apples App Store trademark,according to a court filing.

The lawsuit,filed in a California federal court late last week,said Amazon has improperly used Apples App Store mark to solicit software developers throughout the US. The complaint,filed on Friday,is over the name of Amazon new store for mobile phone applications: Its called Amazon Appstore. Apple calls its iOS app store App Store and alleges that the Amazon Appstore name is too close illegally close to its trademark.

Apple has applied to register the App Store trademark in the US,a bid which Microsoft opposes. The matter is currently before a trademark trial and appeals board,according to the lawsuit. Amazon has yet to officially launch the Amazon Appstore,which is set to sell apps for Googles Android mobile operating system and be integrated into Amazon.com.

Apples suit said Amazon had not responded to any of its company-to-company complaints over the Appstore name. In the suit,Apple argued that its major competitors had each found ways to sell mobile apps without calling their stores for apps app stores.