Amazon and Apple have been battling it out in the courtroom about the former's use of "Appstore" to identify its marketplace for Android apps. Apple's own app storefront is dubbed "App Store," and so the Cupertino firm argued that Amazon's name could confuse and mislead customers. It looks like Apple has hit a bit of a snag in its case against Amazon, though, as Bloomberg is reporting that Apple's claim of false advertising have been dismissed.

In the official court filing, unearthed by The Verge, the judge in the case says that Apple presented no evidence to show that customers believe that the term "app store" includes specific attributes of the iOS App Store and that no consumers were misled by Amazon's use of the Appstore name. Since there was no evidence to support Apple's false advertising claim, the judge was able to grant Amazon's request for a dismissal.

While Apple's false advertising claim is only one of six parts of its case against Amazon, I'm sure that the online retailer is happy to have this particular piece tossed out. Apple also has claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition included in the suit. Amazon has argued that "app store" is a generic term, something that Microsoft agrees with, and that Apple shouldn't have a trademark on it. The judge in this case also remarked that Apple's request that Amazon stop using the Appstore name will "probably" be denied. It remains to be seen exactly how the remainder of this case will play out, but things certainly haven't been going Apple's way so far.

Via The Next Web, @BloombergNews, The Verge, Judge's order (PDF)