I’m sure you’ve all seen the dozens of apps that steal icons, names, or even the design of other App Store apps in the hopes of making a few quick dollars before they are yanked from the App Store. Unfortunately for those that rip off others’ ideas, Apple is now cracking down on copycat apps.
Benjamin Mayo reports (via TheNextWeb) that Apple has apparently changed their policy (noted in the above image – click to expand):
It appears this policy has changed and Apple is taking a much more proactive role; rejecting apps which attempt to mislead users by aping successful apps’ trademarks. In short, Apple is helping to protect real developers from being ripped off. This is a good thing.
Apple added a new dedicated content dispute form to their website for developers to report duplicate content and other copyright violations. Mayo also posted a transcript of the email developers will receive if their app is rejected for copyright claims:
We found that your app, and/or its metadata, contains content that could be misleading to users, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. Specifically, your app icon appears to be similar to the chart topping lists/to do app “Clear.” It would be appropriate to modify your app icon so that they don’t appear to be similar.
It’s great that Apple is taking a firm stance on this – thy’ve gained a bad rap for approving obvious clones and copyright infringing apps, and it’s refreshing to see them taking a stand and doing something about it for a change.
