It’s hard to keep secrets these days. The design of Microsoft’s new Windows App Store is the latest project to be leaked on the Web.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]TechCrunch posted supposed screenshots of the company’s Windows App Store that leaked onto the Web. The screenshots are not verified, but if they are real, it certainly shows some more copying of Apple.

It may also explain why Microsoft is fighting Apple so hard to make sure the term “App Store” remains generic.

That legal battle has reached the point that both companies have hired linguists. As you might imagine, Apple’s linguist says App Store is a proper noun and deserved to be trademarked. Microsoft’s linguist says it’s a generic term.

Here is a screenshot of the Windows App Store.