Very interesting topic. I would like to learn more about it. I have few apps in the market and several others prototyped. I am concerned about how do I know if I am violating any copyrights or other IP. For example I took a picture of a globe and edited the image and put it as an app icon. I have copied icons that come with the simulator and modified them and bundled with my app. For my next game app I am getting tempted to put some Disney characters. Are these actions violating any laws? These are my pet projects. I cannot afford to dig much into these concerns. It will be great if someone in this forum tell me some general guidelines.
Thanks, Dipu On Jul 10, 3:10 am, michael <michael.d.peder...@googlemail.com> wrote: > Hi folks, > > I thought I would ask other developers for their opinions on the large > number of apps on the market which seem to infringe on third-party > intellectual property. > > I have apps in the free Casual Game category, and a quick count > reveals that out of the 200 top apps, at least 30 very likely infringe > on third-party copyrights and/or trademarks. I believe similar numbers > apply to other categories. > > This of course may place the developers of these apps at risk of > lawsuits, and is also a breach of the Market terms and conditions. > > My worry, however, is that these apps constitute unfair competition: > they use "stolen" intellectual property to promote themselves, thus > out-ranking competing apps which play fair. For example, I would love > to use Disney material in one of my games. I asked Disney and did not > obtain a permission, hence I am not using their material. Yet my game > has to compete against other games which do use Disney material, > almost certainly without permission. > > Maybe these are just the rantings of a slightly bitter developer of > not-massively-successful apps. But maybe my concerns also ring a bell > for other developers. What do you think? Should infringing apps just > be accepted, or is there something we as a community can do to deal > with the problem? It would also be good to hear the thoughts of > developers of infringing apps. > > Best, > Michael. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
