Before Apple and Amazon battle it out in the courtroom over an app store name trademark dispute, the companies will have to sit down and talk about it like grown-ups first.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte on Monday ordered the two into settlement talks to attempt to resolve the dispute before the trademark trial gets underway Aug. 19.
The meeting is to take place March 21, with executives and lawyers present to negotiate the matter. Both parties will have to make a good faith effort to resolve the case, according to the order by Laporte:
"No participant in the settlement conference will be permitted to leave the settlement conference before it is concluded," the order read.
But just because the two were ordered to try and hash out some kind of deal doesn't mean the suit must be resolved in the conference. So we may yet see this trademark dispute go to trial.
App Store vs Appstore
When Amazon launched its Android Appstore back in March 2011, Apple was none too happy about the online retailer's name choice. That was evident by the lawsuit the Cupertino-company handed Amazon.
Apple said Amazon's Appstore was too close to its own App Store name, confusing customers.
"Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple or is merely a conduit for Apple's APP STORE service," Apple wrote in its 2011 complaint against Amazon.
Along with the trademark infringement case, Apple also accused Amazon of false advertising. But just last week, a U.S. District Court threw out those allegations.
How do you like them Apples
That was only the first battle of this trademark war, and the ruling will reportedly have no effect on the outcome of the infringement suit.
Apple still has five more pending claims against Amazon: those claims include unfair competition along with the trademark infringement.
The two tech giants may resolve this particular trademark situation in the court mandated meeting. But breath holding isn't recommended, and not only because the meeting is still two months away.
We'll let you know if the two companies have anything to say on the matter, and if the companies respond to TechRadar's request for comment.
Via AllThingD
