As for the practices of other companies, you are quite right that everyone is playing the same game. My “masterful” comment was simply an observation that Apple has played it better than most (though I still wouldn’t put money on the company’s chances for ‘app store’)

And have you ever noticed that Google does not use the term “app store”? So, yes it is possible to create a store to purchase and acquire software for smartphones without resorting to the term “app” or “appstore”. Never mind their wasn’t a common usage for App Store until Apple made it popular. Salesforce.com _owned_ the App Store trademark before they gave it to Apple. Where was Amazon and Microsoft back then, petitioning for denial of trademark?The problem with Amazon’s argument is that they aren’t even using the term “generically”. It is clear proper noun branding, not a generic description. So, yes, even Amazon is using the term to _name_ their store “App Store”.Criminy. Just some basic research that doesn’t even need more than Google. aYes, trademark law is broken. Shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is handled by the same office that handles patents. But for goodness sake, you can’t accuse Apple of doing anything but using the system that exists, just as _every other_ company does, “masterfully” or not.

Joe