Apple to GetJar: Drop App Store
In Apple Inc.’s latest effort to control its U.S. trademark for the term “App Store,” a law firm representing the company sent a cease-and-desist letter to wireless-application store operator GetJar.
According to a letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal dated June 22, lawyers from New York’s Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP requested that San Mateo, Calif.-based GetJar stop using “App Store” on its website and elsewhere, and refrain from using the term in the future. The lawyers suggested that the company instead use the terms “mobile download service” or “application download service”.
The letter highlights the importance of Apple’s App Store to its mobile strategy and how much it views the storefront as a way to differentiate itself from competitors.