Apple has hit back at Amazon, turning down the online retailer’s claims that “App Store” is a generic term.

In documents filed at the Californian district court, the Cupertino-based company said that the term “app store” does not denote a store for apps.

Defending its stance, Apple said, "Apple denies that, based on their common meaning, the words 'app store' together denote a store for apps.”

The iPhone-maker also denied Amazon’s claims that the term app store is widely used by a number of businesses to describe the market for mobile software download services.

The ongoing legal battle over the app store trade mark started when Amazon started its own App Store for Android.

In March, Apple dragged Amazon to court over the Amazon App Store name, claiming that the term app store belonged exclusively to Apple because of its iTunes App Store.

Amazon is not the only company that is against Apple’s claims over the use of App Store. Microsoft, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and HTC have joined forces and urged European officials to nullify Apple’s App Store trademark.