Microsoft challenges Apple’s attempt to trademark “App store”

In 2008, Apple applied for a trademark of the term “App store”, which Microsoft challenged as “too generic” and would prevent competitors from describing their own services accurately. Yesterday, Apple made a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asking that the challenge be dismissed, stating that “the focus in evaluating genericness is on the mark as a whole and requires a fact-intensive assessment of the primary significance of the term to a substantial majority of the relevant public.” In its challenge to the trademark application, Microsoft argued that the term is a generic one for “retail store services featuring apps,” citing the Office’s prior rejections applications to trademark “The Computer Store” and “Log Cabin Homes” due to their generic nature.