Apple opened up its first App Store in 2008, and business has been booming since then. So booming, in fact, that its rivals—Google, Nokia, and Blackberry—have all developed app stores of their own. One thing those rivals have been careful not to do though is to call them app stores. Google has its Android Marketplace, Nokia has its Ovi Store, and Blackberry has Blackberry App World. They are all, essentially, app stores.

Then there is Microsoft. With its app presence growing, they are disputing Apple’s intention to trademark the term “app store.” They contend that it’s a generic term and cannot, therefore, be trademarked. Apple disagrees. Yes, “app” is short for “application software,” but it is also an abbreviated form of the company’s name, Apple.

At present, Microsoft sells its apps at the Windows Marketplace. Apple is arguing that no other company uses the term app store, indicating that it is exclusively the property of Apple. Microsoft disagrees, arguing that other companies would happily use the term if they were not afraid of potential litigation. It remains for the courts to decide who is right.
Read More at the Business Journal.