Amazon Pushes Ahead with “Appstore” Despite Apple’s Lawsuit over “App Store” – a Trademark that Microsoft also Opposes

The Seattle area’s two tech giants, Amazon.com and Microsoft, find themselves on the same side today—battling a trademark claim by Apple. As expected, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) said Tuesday that it was indeed opening its new Appstore for Android, despite a recent federal lawsuit by Apple (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AAPL]]) claiming trademark infringement of that company’s App Store brand.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) has been opposing Apple’s attempt to secure the App Store brand name for a while now, but in a different venue—an appeal with federal trademark regulators.

Apple’s lawsuit against Amazon—first reported by Bloomberg News, from what I can tell—was a preemptive strike against the rollout of Amazon’s mobile app marketplace. Whatever happens in the long run, the legal battle steps all over Amazon’s ability to own today’s headlines with features like an exclusive deal for a new Angry Birds game, the ability to “test drive” apps before you buy them, and some familiar Amazon recommendation mechanics.

Author: Curt Woodward

Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft. Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem. A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.