A Bad Apple in the Amazon?

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThey were still sweeping up the celebratory confetti from the launching of Seattle-based Amazon, Inc.'s  Appstore, offering applications for Google's Android smartphones, when Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, Inc. swept in and said: "Say Hello to Litigation."

According to stories in The Los Angeles Times and Fast Company, Apple sued for unfair competition and trademark infringement over the use of the phrase Appstore, contending that its use by Amazon will confuse and mislead consumers. Amazon's digital storefront was offering for download 3,800 Android apps from the outset. Citing Microsoft's Marketplace as an example, Apple contends other mobile app retailers have managed to avoid the Appstore moniker, and expects Amazon to follow suit, as it were.