Lets say I build an app that is like a yellow pages . It lists companies, some of which are major brands. Is this a problem for getting into the app store?
I dont have permission from the brands as such, my data has just been brought in with name of company, address, telephone number etc and location.
Lets say I build an app that is like a yellow pages . It lists companies, some of which are major brands. Is this a problem for getting into the app store?
I dont have permission from the brands as such, my data has just been brought in with name of company, address, telephone number etc and location.
Thanks
This forum is for code support, not legal. I suggest that you hire an attorney.
Anyway, it's not a legal question. Obviously, this isn't infringement, or every directory would be in trouble. The question is whether Apple would approve it.
No... I'm not saying that he shouldn't have asked the question, it's in the right category. I'm just saying that most people here are programmers, not legal advisors.
What the heck did I start. I posted in the business, legal and app store section. My question was if I used brand names in a product would I have a problem getting into the app store. I do wish trolls would stay out of forums!
As TinaNugget said earlier, if Apple didn't like it then other Directory's like Yell.com wouldn't be on the app store so I think you should be ok however I'm not a lawyer.
If your app is just showing somewhere lists of brands and doesn't misrepresent anything - then it's absolutely OK (that's what brands are for). You can make an app, that searches through amazon or ebay (for example). So you can have buttons "Amazon" and "Ebay". But if your "Ebay" button will load your web-site, where you sell something - it's illegal.
If you want to make things completely clear - you have to mention somewhere "Ebay is trademark of blablabla" "Yellow pages is trademark of blablabla".
If you are gonna use "ebay" as part of your app name.. well.. then it's a gray area. Ebay may not like it, if they don't - they will send you/Apple notice and you will have to change it.
This is from legal point. In general it seems Apple doesn't want to get involved in legal battles and since Apple is hosting and distributing the applications it is responsible for the content of all the apps. Therefore Apple is trying to avoid the trouble by usually following "cease and desist" notices. So.. even if you are perfectly legal Apple still might take your app down if somebody sends legal notice to Apple. You will need to convince Apple that you are not doing anything illegal and maybe negotiate with the owner of trademark. Or upon receiving such notice - just remove the offending name and continue. It's a no big deal actually.
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As TinaNugget said earlier, if Apple didn't like it then other Directory's like Yell.com wouldn't be on the app store so I think you should be ok however I'm not a lawyer.
Hmm, all the disses from the young'uns has me feeling curmudgeonly. I think I'll go over to Yahoo Answers and give some plausible, but wrong, answers to homework questions
Hmm, all the disses from the young'uns has me feeling curmudgeonly. I think I'll go over to Yahoo Answers and give some plausible, but wrong, answers to homework questions
hehe, good luck with that, but did you really need to throw in the word " curmudgeonly"
Brand names in apps?
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