Apple has lost a longstanding legal battle with Amazon over the online retailer’s use of the term ‘Appstore’ in reference to its digital download store.

Having filed a request to immediately stop Amazon from using the term ‘Appstore’ back in March, Apple was yesterday told by a federal judge in the US that it had failed to show Amazon’s use of the widely generic term would leave customers feeling confused. 

“Apple has not established that its "App Store" mark is famous, in the sense of being "prominent" and "renowned,"” Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for Northern California wrote in an 18-page verdict.

Amazon’s triumph marks the first successful attempt to disband Apple’s legal rights over the term App Store. Earlier this year Microsoft, HTC, Nokia and Sony Ericsson looked to invalidate Apple’ s European App Store Trademarks whilst Microsoft, which has been forced to call its application outlet the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, continues to challenge the Cupertino firm in the US.

Should Apple be allowed to own the term App Store or is it too generic for one company to control? Let us know what you think via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Via: CNET