Apple Didn't Invent the App Store

Is that a reference to a store, as in a place that sells things, or a store as in storage? I am not familiar with the topic discussed on the page, but to me, the term "app store" is referring to app caching/storage mechanism.

I'm not sure the mere occurrence of the same phrase would invalidate someone's attempt to trademark it. I trademarked a two word phrase that has occurred before on the web, but it had no special meaning in the industry.

In other words, no company or process or device came to mind when people in the industry heard the phrase. Nobody had made an investment in it.

As part of the proof that the phrase wasn't special, I actually provided search urls for the phrase and explained how the usage in the top results was generic.

The OP does realize that "Windows" is recognized as a valid trademark, yes?

Yes, I noticed Apple carefully quoted someone else as saying they invented an app store. There is also the context of mobile here, where there is less prior art (because of the mobile telcoms hold on such things). If Apple attempted to be super broad here, then I might turn and sue them for 30% of all app store (and Mac store!) purchases, since I built and pitched Apple the concept in the mid and late 1990s. Even met Gil Amelio. Right before the purchase of NeXT. Lawyers can always add my name to any discovery requests from Apple. :)

The App Store bears far more resemblance to Steam than to Linux distro repositories, which are primarily about resolving dependencies and being able to upgrade things without breaking dependencies. iOS and OS X Apps don't even have external dependencies other than OS-provided libraries, and most Linux package management systems don't have a standard GUI, let alone one at all like iTunes or the Mac App Store.

I thought the same thing - but he does seem to have a pretty good argument backing up his terminology:

http://www.michaelrobertson.com/archive.php?minute_id=340#co...

If the link doesn't work, it's down a ways in the comments.

He's anything but a "freetard", he built cnr in order to be able to easily ship proprietary and drm apps. Far from a freetard (whatever that means).

Also I'm saddened to see people here upvoting a comment using a derogatory term (freetard) against a part of our community (free and open source software enthusiasts in that case), it's against the HN guidelines.

I think you're being overly harsh. He quotes Apple's legal papers in which they clearly state that the concept of an app store is unprecedented and then he exposes that as inaccurate. You might think of him as a "minor freetard business celebrity" but he took the brilliance of Linux software repositories, made them easier to use and more accessible, and integrated in the ability to pay for software long before Apple did the exact same thing. That makes him extremely qualified to offer some insight on the topic regardless of how big of a celebrity he is. It also explains why he focuses on countering Apple's claim that they invented the concept despite it being less relevant to the trademark dispute.

He was also involved with the Microsoft v. Lindows case in which Microsoft claimed to own the trademark on all words that rhyme with Windows. Remember that one? Where Microsoft couldn't win so they ended up paying $20 million to Lindows for them to change their name to Linspire? He's had direct experience with a frivolous trademark suit from a major software company in the past. Again, that makes him highly qualified to share an opinion on the current situation, which he does. He directly addressed the fact that that app store had been in common usage before Apple started using it. It would've been nice if he could have given more concrete examples but he did still address it.

In conclusion, calling him a freetard is childish and contributes nothing to the discussion of the article. Saying that he fails to distinguish trademarks from patents is flat out wrong and gives people skimming the comments a totally inaccurate impression of the article and its relevance.

"Freetard"? What are you twelve? A corporate troll or a Windows user? I will be so happy when this "*-tard" meme goes away, it is truly irksome.

It's the combination "App Store" that they object to. So yes, Amazon App Market would be fine, as is the "Windows Phone App Marketplace".

Yes you could. There may have been a centralized "store" at some point, but I don't remember it. Palm OS let you install arbitrary executables, so you didn't need one.