By Dan Levine
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday
rejected part of Apple Inc's lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc's
use of the term App Store, ruling Apple cannot bring a false
advertising claim against the online retailer.
U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California,
granted Amazon's motion for partial summary judgment, which only
challenged Apple's false advertising allegations. Apple leveled
other claims against Amazon, including trademark infringement.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment, and an Amazon
representative could not be reached immediately.
Amazon has stepped up competition against Apple in recent
years, launching its cheaper Kindle tablet computer to go after
the dominant iPad and trying to lure mobile application
developers to its Kindle platform.
One of the first public clashes in their tussle was Apple's
2011 lawsuit.
Apple accused Amazon of misusing what it calls its APP STORE
to solicit developers for a mobile software download service.
However, Amazon said its so-called Appstore has become so
generic that its use could not constitute false advertising.
In a legal filing last year, Amazon added that even Apple
Chief Executive Tim Cook and his predecessor, Steve Jobs, used
the term to discuss rivals. Cook commented on "the number of app
stores out there" and Jobs referred to the "four app stores on
Android."
In her ruling on Wednesday, Hamilton wrote that the mere use
of "Appstore" by Amazon cannot be taken as a representation that
its service is the same as Apple's.
"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.
A trial on Apple's remaining claims is scheduled for August.
The case is Apple Inc v. Amazon.com Inc et al, U.S. District
Court, Northern District of California, No. 11-01327.
(Additional reporting by Alistair Barr)
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