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by bluGill 1965 days ago
At that price any copyright lawyer will be happy to deal with the paperwork. You were making 2000/month, so the infringement is taking money away. For a share of that it is easy to register the copyright and then send the proper letters. Probably this will settle out of court where apple pays your lawyer from fund the developer would have got and then removes the app. you get nothing directly from the lawyer except that next months all your sales come back to you since there isn't the competitor.
1 comments
staticman2 1965 days ago
If the infringing App is in a foreign country the scenario is much more complicated than you are suggesting.
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bluGill 1965 days ago
It is, but the US and the EU legally recognize each other's copyrights. So he can sue the Chinese company in his country, and when they don't show up send Apple a notice to freeze assets related to the company, which just needs a US lawyer. In the end the lawyers win, but it is a straight forward case (assuming all the facts are as given...)
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newdude116 1965 days ago
Yes, you likely could threaten Apple with a lawyer. But based on your comment you likely have never dealt with a lawsuit, especially involving several jurisdictions. And trust me, the lawyer want the same thing as the scammer. Your money!
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bookofjoe 1965 days ago
"I have never been ruined but twice in my life — once when I lost a lawsuit, and once when I won one."—Voltaire
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dangus 1965 days ago
And how long does that legal process take compared to the time it takes for the spammer to set up a new legal entity, app, and App Store account?
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908B64B197 1965 days ago
Can't he get it out of the App Store in his jurisdiction (EU + US with reciprocal agreements).

I guess the Chinese copycat will still be sold in China and other non-compliant markets for IP law but that would ba a partial victory.

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webmobdev 1965 days ago
Maybe it is better to sue Apple instead, for allowing such apps - they claim they have "strict guidelines" and review all apps before accepting them .... If many developers around the world start doing this, it becomes a PR issue and costs them money too in legal fees ... may even force them to fix the issue.
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rrauenza 1965 days ago
The Northrups did a video on this for a photo that was clearly stolen from them:

https://youtu.be/DUEbi4r8Pg0

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