Microsoft has taken issue with Apple's latest response in the "App Store" trademark battle, this time taking issue with the iPhone maker's font size in a legal document.
In January, Microsoft requested a summary judgment to block Apple from trademarking the phrase on the grounds that it is too generic. In a game of legal ping-pong, Apple fired back, reminding the court that Microsoft holds a trademark on another generic term: Windows.
But Microsoft has taken issue with Apple's official multi-page response on the grounds that it's too long-winded, written in typeface that's entirely too small.
"Apple's response brief is 31 pages, including the table of contents and table of authorities, and on information and belief, is printed in less than 11 point font," reads the motion filed Tuesday by Microsoft's legal team, obtained by Geek Wire.
In the motion, Microsoft also notes that the cap on response length is 25 pages and the minimum font size is 11 point. Microsoft has asked that the judge strike Apple's response for failure to comply with the rules. The company requested that a judge suspend judgment until 15 days after Apple files a new response that follows the appropriate guidelines.
Apple holds the legal rights to a laundry list of trademarks, all of which can be read here. Several months ago, Apple was awarded the trademark for the ubiquitous, frequently parodied term that markets the App Store: "There's an app for that."
Apple owns trademarks for products like Final Cut, iPod, and Mac OS. While it might be faced with some opposition to trademark the App Store, but the company also has the rights to other terms that could be argued are equally, if not more generic than "app store," like the trademarks it has for a few fonts: Chicago, New York, and Sand.
Apple first applied to trademark "app store" back in 2008, just a week after the actual App Store launched. However, in the time since then, a growing number of competitors have popped up. The Android Market, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, and GetJar are just a few examples of the other app stores out there.