Cartier to Withdraw Suit Against Apple Over iPhone Applications

By DON CLARK

A legal battle over iPhone application software appears to have ended almost as soon as it began.

A lawyer representing Cartier International N.V. late Friday said it is withdrawing a suit the company filed earlier in the day against Apple Inc. The suit alleged that two applications for the iPhone infringed on the trademark for the luxury brand's Tank watches.

The applications have been removed from Apple's App Store. "Our concerns have been addressed," said Jonathan Lagarenne, the attorney for Fox Rothschild LLD representing Cartier.

An Apple spokeswoman said it had been informed that Cartier was withdrawing the suit.

Cartier's short-lived complaint was not the first about software offered though Apple's App Store. Last month, Apple was hit by a complaint from child welfare groups for allowing the sale of a game, in which players try to silence a crying baby by shaking the phone. Apple removed the game and apologized.

Cartier is a brand of luxury-goods maker Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA.

Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com