The "you can't use android in a name without our permissions" claim is crude attempt to control its' use that has no legal backing in most of the world.
Google don't own the trademark to the word Android in many parts of the world and therefore have no real way of backing their claim that you need their permission to use it. In the EU specifically they're recently re-applied to try and register the trademark using a much narrower definition that limits their control of it to mobile 'phones and smart 'phones because it looks like the original application was rejected and they tried to appeal the decision (use http://oami.europa.eu/CTMOnline/RequestManager/en_SearchBasic and search for trade mark no 6410856 for the first attempt and 8458309 for the most recent one). As for Android being Google maintained, well, they've always claimed it's an open project, and OEMs are free to make changes to Android without Googles agreement, so I'm not too stable that claim is. For example; look at the Zii Egg; It's offered with Android, but lacks many of the buttons you see on an Android 'phone and probably has numerous customisations to deal with the platform it's running on, all of which could have been made without Googles approval or involvement. I think a better description would be "Google approved", but hey, you are, of course, free to say what you want. Al. -- * Written an Android App? - List it at http://andappstore.com/ * ====== Funky Android Limited is registered in England & Wales with the company number 6741909. The registered head office is Kemp House, 152-160 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, UK. The views expressed in this email are those of the author and not necessarily those of Funky Android Limited, it's associates, or it's subsidiaries. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Maan Najjar Sent: 08 August 2009 22:30 To: [email protected] Subject: [android-discuss] Re: Federated app directories Thanks for the response, you have some good points. I hope you find success in delivering your application to end users. Google is maintaining android operating system and I think "official" is the right term to describe their "Android Market" application. That's why you are not allowed to use Android word in your application name without their permission (See "Android in Official Names" in Brand Guidelines at "Android Official Website"). Therefore I think it's ok to call other alternative applications as unofficial or 3rd party applications. On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Mark Murphy <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Maan Najjar wrote: > I've seen more than one unofficial app store for android so far. They're not "unofficial". They are independent. > Forgive me asking this , but what's the purpose of those unofficial app > stores ? Isn't Market sufficient for app distribution ? 1. Not all Android devices will have Android Market, particularly those whose manufacturers are simply using the Android open source tree rather than signing any sort of deal with Google to get proprietary apps like Android Market. 2. Not all users can use Android Market. For example, owners of the ADP1 cannot obtain copy-protected apps from the Android Market. 3. Not all developers can sell via the Android Market, only those in select locations, in part due to the dependence upon Google Checkout (see below). 4. Android Market's only current payment option is Google Checkout, which some consumers will not wish to use, or cannot use because they lack the payment mechanisms (e.g., credit card) that Google Checkout requires. 5. Android Market's terms and conditions may contain terms that developers are unwilling to accept. 6. Android Market takes 30% off the top, plus Google Checkout fees, from the developer's take, which some developers may prefer to avoid. 7. Some carriers and/or device manufacturers may elect to run their own markets for control purposes, or to capture more revenue (e.g., more than 30%), or to support other languages, or... I am sure there are other reasons as well. This is not to say that the Android Market is evil, but rather that having alternatives and competition among markets is a very healthy thing. -- Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy) http://commonsware.com | http://twitter.com/commonsguy Android App Developer Books: http://commonsware.com/books.html --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
