Judge orders Apple, Amazon to settlement talks on App Store fight
A federal judge in California has ordered Apple and Amazon.com to sit down and attempt to settle a lawsuit between them over Amazon's use of the "Appstore" name for its online application marketplace.
U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Laporte told both parties on Tuesday that they must attempt to reach a settlement ahead of their next scheduled appearance in court on March 21.
Apple sued Amazon.com on March 18, 2011, over use of the "Appstore" name, just four days before Amazon launched its "Appstore for Android." Apple had previously requested Amazon.com not use the name, which Apple contends is too similar to its own "App Store" for iOS applications. Apple launched its App Store in 2008.