Originally the Registrar of Trade Marks refused registration of Apple's "app store" trademark in March 2013 because it was too descriptive. Apple then appealed this decision in the Federal Court which has now failed.

On Wednesday, Justice Yates ruled that Apple's appeal be dismissed and that it pay the court costs of the Registrar of Trade Marks. While the ruling doesn't prevent Apple from continuing to use the term "app store", it means that Apple does not have the right in Australia to prevent others from using it.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Mark Summerfield, a senior associate with Melbourne intellectual property law firm Watermark as stating that "The law requires that a trademark be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one trader from those of another, so that consumers are not confused about who they are buying from."

Yet that same argument should apply to all countries or continents and yet apparently it doesn't. Apple holds two App Store related trademarks in Europe as noted below that are clearly registered. Though you'll note in the second graphic the trademark was opposed (see purple arrow). The documentation doesn't disclose who challenged the trademark application in 2011, but does show that the opposition made the same argument on the grounds: "likelihood of confusion."

Apple was finally given registered status for the "App Store" three and half years later on August 13, 2014 as noted in the first graphic below.

The App Store has also been successfully registered in Canada as noted below. Yet it wasn't without a fight. The noted opposition to Apple's App Store trademark was Nokia, Amazon and Microsoft.

In China, two of Apple's three applications related to the App Store are still being "Examined Further," while the third was abandoned by Apple back in 2011.

And finally in the U.S., the App Store trademark application is still in limbo. In 2010 UPSTO actually published it in the "Trademark Official Gazette," which means that UPSTO approved it but it was subject to opposition filings within 30 days. Obviously opposition was made and it's still in that process.

Who is opposing it in the U.S.? That's not known in full, but we do know that Amazon is the leading opposition. In January 2013 a Judge ordered Apple and Amazon to settle their battle over the App Store trademark or go to trial. Obviously with Apple still not being granted the trademark yet in the U.S., the case must still be in progress or in some form of negotiations. 

In the end, those opposing the trademark are using the grounds of "likelihood of confusion," and yet the confusion really rests in how different countries are accepting Apple's trademark and others aren't. It's the system that's not universal and therefore creating confusion. On something like international trademarks, there should be one body that accepts or rejects trademarks. But that apparently is too simple a solution. Politics rule the day.

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Nokia & Amazon Duke it Out with Apple over App Store TM