As noted previously on this Blog here, iPhone® “app” logos are a rapidly expanding environment for trademark development. The logos have limited space and creativity to work with – they must be legible on the mobile screen and be square with rounded corners.
I am not aware of any infringement issues yet tied directly to app logos, but they cannot be far off in the future — given the limited canvas size and the explosion in number of apps, allegations of confusing similarity are inevitable. (If you are aware of any such infringement claims, kindly drop me a line or post on comments.)
Apple, recognizing the value of branding and protecting the app logos has recently filed for trademark registration of a slew of the Apple apps (click images to enlarge):
In addition, at least a few other companies have recently filed for what appear to be app logos (click logo to see USPTO records):
What is your favorite iPhone app logo?