The Amazon Appstore is currently off limits to mobile developers in Germany.
While we were unable to find anything about its current status, there has been a lawsuit filed in Germany in which Apple claims Amazon’s use of the “Amazon Appstore” name violates its previously-established “App Store” brand.
As a result of this impending litigation, Amazon has noted, “For the time being, we are not accepting new app submissions from developers located in Germany.”
“We have been forced to impose this restriction due to a legal action filed by Apple in Germany seeking to prevent us from using the term ‘appstore’. We believe Apple’s claim is without merit and are actively contesting it,” the online retail giant continued.
There was a similar lawsuit filed by Apple here in the US earlier this year. However, unlike in Germany, the decisions have wildly swung in Amazon’s favor in the case here.
The judge presiding over the case has said it’s very hard to imagine anyone actually being unable to distinguish between Amazon’s and Apple’s app stores.
However, she did not believe that the term “app store” was a completely generic one. Amazon is arguing that it should be treated just like calling something a “hardware store” or “grocery store.” But no one was using the app store name until Apple filed to trademark it.
In the US, the lawsuit is still ongoing but it looks like the result will be in Amazon’s favor. In Germany, however, the company now has the unenviable position of needing to convince the legal system to overturn an existing imposition.
