In a trademark lawsuit filed in the federal court in Manhattan on Friday, luxury watch maker Cartier International sued Apple Inc. alleging that the Apple iTunes store is selling products that use the Cartier trademarks. The applications in question facilitate the display of time on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Accusing the electronics bigwig for offering software that breaches Cartier's designs without authorization, the watch maker is seeking a prohibiting action against the Apple practice as well as unspecified damages.

Cartier said that though the iPhone's Fake Watch title was merely a software depiction of some well-known watch designs, Apple was guilty of unauthorized use of images that look like the company's watches.

Indeed, the free Fake Watch application allowed users to obtain the time using their iPhone or iPod touch, which implied a straight hit at Cartier's fancy watch business. Moreover, also on offer was a premium, paid version of the app, going by the name "Fake Watch Gold Edition."

However, on learning that Apple had removed the allegedly offending software from the App Store; Cartier retreated from its earlier stance, and pulled the lawsuit! Though Apple refused to comment on the suit filed by Cartier, had there been no retreat from the watch maker, Apple's mobile software approval process would have been in jeopardy!