Apple sues Amazon, claims exclusive rights to “App Store”

It seems a week doesn’t go by without one giant corporation filing a lawsuit against another.

Filling this week’s quota is iPod/iPhone/iPad manufacturer Apple, who sued rival Amazon over its just-launched Appstore.

The store lets Android-enabled smartphones browse and purchase apps and games, such as the immensely popular “Angry Birds.” In fact, a version of that very title is offered for free via Amazon’s obvious attempt to cut into a market Apple has enjoyed much success in. Amazon appstore customers are promised a normally paid app for free each day as an added incentive.

The lawsuit was filed Friday according to the Los Angeles Times. Apple’s claim specified the similarity between “Amazon Appstore” and its own “App Store” as the reasoning behind the filing, notes the site.

This legal tussle between the two companies marks the latest in a long line of patent-related cases Android-enabled devices are wrapped up in.

FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller discussed the almost humorous susceptibility Android-related products have towards litigation in a blog post today. The legal blog compiled the information in an infographic detailing the myriad cases brought against companies using the OS.

Mueller concludes there is “no doubt that Android faces more problems than any other software platform — mobile or otherwise — in the history of the industry,” adding that “the trend is undoubtedly that there will be even more of this before all is said and done.”

For now, it seems like he’s right.