Judge Tosses Apple’s False Advertising Claims Against Amazon Android Appstore

A first, minor victory for Amazon in its battle with Apple over the term “app store.” A United States district court on Tuesday granted Amazon’s motion for summary judgement on Apple’s allegation that the retailer is guilty of false advertising for improperly using its App Store mark to promote its Android Appstore.

U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton found that Apple simply did not provide enough evidence to support its claim that Amazon misled anyone by branding its service Appstore for Android.

“Apple has failed to establish that Amazon made any false statement (express or implied) of fact that actually deceived or had the tendency to deceive a substantial segment of its audience,” Hamilton wrote. “The mere use of “Appstore” by Amazon to designate a site for viewing and downloading/purchasing apps cannot be construed as a representation that the nature, characteristics, or quality of the Amazon Appstore is the same as that of the Apple APP STORE.”

So, point Amazon. Of course, this is just one of six claims Apple has pending against the retailer, and arguably the smallest of them all. The remainder, which include trademark infringement, have yet to be decided.

Apple declined comment on the ruling.