GetJar latest firm to battle Apple over App Store trademark

CMO Patrick Mork fends off parental intervention from Steve Jobs.

GetJar has been sent a Cease & Desist notice from Apple calling for it to stop using the term 'app store' to describe its service. The news follows Apple's court battle with Amazon over its desire to trademark the term.

In a blog post, chief marketing officer Patrick Mork points out that GetJar has been distributing apps since early 2005, and claims the company has been using the phrase 'app store' in its marketing materials since early 2009.

"GetJar won’t be subject to this kind of bullying. We’re not going to “Cease & Desist”. We were here long before Steve & Co. We were built by developers, to help developers. Not to help sell handsets or search results. In the words of Twisted Sister: We’re not going to take it! Steve Jobs isn’t our Dad," blogs Mork.

He also claims that the spat is emblematic of wider trends within the mobile industry that may be concerning developers. "The ecosystem as a whole is becoming increasingly closed. It’s character is dictated by larger companies exercising excessive force to get bigger shares of the pie," he writes.

"For example, Android was supposed to be FREE and open; yet developers can’t choose their billing solution. They have their price points micro-managed for them without input.  If Apple isn’t suing Amazon, it’s suing start-ups. Now Microsoft, who is struggling to gain traction with Windows Mobile, is charging OEM’s for using Android using our country’s broken patent system.  Where are all of these law suits and threats getting us? Is anyone actually worrying about whether app developers and content providers make enough money to keep the lights on?"