I have video chatting apps on the App Store and there are Chinese shell companies who submit takedown notices for generic terms, and Apple asks me to comply.<p>They ask that I don’t even rank for certain keywords. And they don’t even provide information on their trademark number. They just want less competition.<p>I want to know what my options are. Apple is also not clear when I ask them why an app like Instagram can show up when I search Snapchat.<p>What legal recourse can I take here?<p>The Chinese company submitting takedowns against US devs is Beijing Lakesha Network Technology Co. Ltd.
I suggest you change the name of you app.<p>This seems like a legitimate company and not a trademark farmer [1] with a video conference/messaging app with the name MONKEY and the corresponding valid trademark.<p>And what does the company being Chinese have anything to do with anything?<p>Also not a 'shell' company. A quick Baidu tells me the company is called 北京拉克沙网络科技有限公司 with a registered capital of 35,000,000 Yuan.<p>[1] <a href="https://trademarks.justia.com/owners/beijing-lakesha-network-technology-co-ltd-4573660/" rel="nofollow">https://trademarks.justia.com/owners/beijing-lakesha-network...</a>
Can you link to some specifics?<p>Generally people criticize Apple for the opposite - that they <i>don’t</i> respond to takedown requests.<p>It would help a lot to see what exact kind of thing you are dealing with.
It depends. In SEO this kind of strategy could be considered to be 'keyword stuffing'.<p>Apple have specific rules regarding keywords in the App Store, as I'm sure you must already be aware.<p>They specifically state: "The unauthorized use of trademarked terms, celebrity names, or other protected words and phrases is not allowed and is a common reason for App Store rejection. The use of terms that are not relevant to the app and the use of competing app names are similarly prohibited." [0]<p>— and any of these clauses are what could be biting you, but I specifically suspect, as you claim in another thread that you are in fact using the name of a competitor app in your keywords, it will be the final sentence that you are falling foul of. Even if it is also a generic term, if that term is not relevant to your app (is your app actually about monkey(s)? I guess not, otherwise there would be little argument), then you will have little recourse: you have already agreed to these terms as part of one of your contractual agreements with Apple.<p>Furthermore, I suspect that, because of the way this clause is worded, the offending keyword doesn't even need to be protected by trademark law: it merely needs to be the name of a competitor's app.<p>Should you choose to challenge it, you will need to build your case around those three clauses: the first is standard copyright/trademark law stuff. Sure, one can argue it's a generic term, but then one's actions (using the keyword in your context) would still appear as possible "passing off". Then you would have to prove that the ostensibly generic term in question is in fact relevant to your app. But you're gonna get stuck with that final clause if your keyword is in fact the name of a competitor's app. I don't think there's much argument there, and this is likely a part of the agreed contract between Apple and yourself.<p>That's how I read it anyway. But I'm certainly not a lawyer, (I'm a software engineer), though I have dealt with a bit of contract law over the years. I'd also advise you to seek proper legal advice if you intend to try and challenge any of Apple's contracts, because Apple most certainly have already in the first instance, and losing one's developer license — particularly over something as small as keyword stuffing — could likely be quite devastating in many instances. (I'm certainly not saying don't challenge their contract at all, merely that you should make the right preparation if you intend to do so: it's pretty easy to find legal advice on contract law)<p>[0] <a href="https://developer.apple.com/app-store/search/" rel="nofollow">https://developer.apple.com/app-store/search/</a>