YNOT – As part of the process for defending an application to trademark the term “App Store,” Apple Computer Inc. has demanded adult application virtual storefront Mikandi.com refer to itself in some other way.
Mikandi is the second app marketplace to be targeted by Apple. On March 18, Apple asked a California court to prevent rival digital behemoth Amazon.com from using “App Store” when referring to Amazon’s online marketplace for Android applications.
On Tuesday, Mikandi owners Jesse Adams and Jen McEwen told GeekWire.com they did not intend to heed Apple’s cease-and-desist letter, preferring to await decisions in court cases pending against Amazon.com and Microsoft before taking action. However, by Wednesday morning, Mikandi.com no longer bore the tagline “The World’s First App Store for Adults.” Instead, the digital download destination now calls itself “The World’s First App Market for Adults.”
Amazon’s marketplace, called “App Store for Android” when it opened on Tuesday, became “Appstore for Android” on Wednesday.
Google’s application marketplace, the official Android Market, appears to be in the clear. Among the mobile application stores — Apple’s, Mikandi’s, Amazon’s and Google’s — only Mikandi offers adult products.
Apple’s quest for the App Store trademark began in 2008. The application was challenged almost immediately by Microsoft, on the grounds the phrase is “too generic” to qualify for trademark status. Apple maintains the term has become closely associated with Apple through advertising and word of mouth, and therefore deserves protection.
In the meantime, Adams told GeekWire his company is not big enough to take on Apple by itself, but it might support Microsoft’s challenge.
“It’s not worth it for us to fight Apple’s legal team over this by ourselves,” Adams said. “Maybe we can file an amicus brief to Microsoft’s case.”
