If App Store's Trademark Is Generic, So Is Windows'

Toe, The writes "In response to Microsoft's attempt to dismiss Apple's 'App Store' trademark application, Apple references Microsoft's claim to the Windows trademark. 'Having itself faced a decades-long genericness challenge to its claimed WINDOWS mark, Microsoft should be well aware 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.'"

Comments

Re:It's still different

[betterunixthanunix]

Actually, "windows" is also generic, since it refers to specific GUI elements -- I, for example, have 7 windows open right now, and I certainly do not use Microsoft's software. Additionally, I am using "X Windows," which has nothing to do with Microsoft's operating systems.

One could argue that "the app store" is a specific and well known software repository. The problem, in both cases, is that the term was already generic before some large corporation claimed a trademark on it. Microsoft has managed to maintain its "Windows" trademark for a long time, which is about the only thing that lends any credence to their claim.