Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, App Store, SDK
App Store Lessons: Picking an application name
iPhone developer Dan B. wanted to know if Apple would reject his application based on the name he wanted to use for his app.
So he did what you'd expect a sane developer to do. He wrote Apple. He used one of his technical support incidents to speak with the Apple Developer Technical Support teams and waited for them to reply.
They were quite prompt in answering, redirecting his question to the iPhone App Review Team.
Thank you for contacting Apple Developer Technical Support. We provide support for code-level questions on hardware & software development, and are unable to help you with your app naming question.
Please contact the iPhone App Review Team for assistance. You can contact them directly at [address redacted].
While you were initially charged a technical support incident for this request, we have assigned a replacement incident back to your account.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
So Dan contacted the App Review team. And they wrote back too.
Thank you for contacting the iPhone Developer Program. This email address is for inquiries regarding status of application submissions.
Apple is not able to provide pre-approval to developers for proposed application submissions.
We ask that you please review the Program License Agreement details against the specific application you wish to develop and submit any applications for App Store consideration in line with the application submission processes for the program.
If your application does in fact get rejected by the app review team, then we will notify you on what appropriate corrections/changes should be made.
So what's a developer to do? It seems like the only way to vet an application (let alone an application name) is to submit it and see whether Apple rejects it or not. If the name is used in the application art, you might have to redesign your screens. If the application idea is not okay, you might end up throwing away all your development costs because Apple would not give a preapproval before starting serious development.
Dan's problem reflects a wider problem with Apple's App Store black box. Developers should be able to pay for support incidents for exactly this kind of situation. It appears that Apple does offer this high level of consultation to partners and other companies that they work with (even to the point of having Phil Schiller call Google directly to discuss the progress for the Google Voice app review). Shouldn't they offer a similar kind of service to smaller developers?
Have you been able to get these kinds of answers out of Apple? If so, how did you approach the matter? Let us know in the comments...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Roberto said 10:49PM on 10-15-2009
I won't need any other calculator once Wolfram Alpha comes to the iPhone.
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/15/wolfram-alpha-gets-an-iphone-app-and-a-developer-api/
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kindakrazy said 11:53PM on 10-15-2009
Um...duh...
The problem described is just a specialized version of one of the basic problems with Apple's 'app approval' process. It's that you can get very little information from Apple about what exactly the criteria is app approval are. And the more your app is unique, the more likely it is to take longer to develop and have that much higher development costs, AND it makes it MUCH more likely that Apple will reject your app for violating some secret criteria.
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Erling Ormar Vignisson said 12:35AM on 10-16-2009
This goes far and beyond just screen redesign. Before you submit your Life Changing App, surely you've done your homework of finding a domain name suitable for representing your product, applied and paid for that as well as designing a website around the application (including graphics, text copy and what have you). You've also put out betas to testers, had some preliminary reviews that will never be found on Google because you'll have to change the app name. You may even have bought ad space with pre-made banners. All of this will be rendered completely useless.
In addition -- and I have some experience with this -- trying to come up with an alternate yet snazzy, memorable name for your product for which a corresponding domain name is also available? Not for the faint of heart.
Perhaps Apple should come up with a domain-application-like system, in which every developer is allowed to apply for (a max of) 3 product names before or during development?
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Jordan said 12:28AM on 10-16-2009
I would submit one called "Phil Schiller eats balls for breakfast" and see if it gets approved or not.
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LAGal said 8:44PM on 10-16-2009
better yet. just one called "Ate My Balls" and you could put in all kinds of folks, not just Phil
Nikolai said 12:46AM on 10-16-2009
Apple should provide those consulting services to each and every developer, because they collectively generate a tremendous amount of revenue for Apple in sales on the App Store, much more than the few or so elite corporations that they care to spend the time working with. But it's not surprising that they don't - no big companies do. Apple's partner: AT&T. Verizon, Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, and Google. You'd think these companies would see past the bigger = better paradigm and really meet the needs of their most important business partners (developers in this case, other sales channels in the other companies). It's a shame that Apple isn't willing to think that differently.
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Wakka said 1:02AM on 10-16-2009
I agree. We developers' success directly affects Apple's bottom line. It would be nice to be treated as a human when needing help. However, the DTS folks are usually very helpful and congenial people when you are dealing with code problems.
Sheila Levine said 2:07AM on 10-16-2009
It clearly states: "We ask that you please review the Program License Agreement details against the specific application you wish to develop..."
Obviously the naming guidelines are contained in that agreement. This fellow just didn't feel like doing a bunch of reading and decided he'd ask questions instead. A big no no in today's Web world.
http://www.ouchpost.com
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raminf said 2:34AM on 10-16-2009
Suggest he try calling them on the phone (I don't have the number handy but it's listed on one of those 'contact us' dev pages). I've had absolutely no luck reaching them via email. Too many layers. But when you actually talk to a human being things have a way of getting solved pretty quickly.
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lens42 said 3:01AM on 10-16-2009
Couldn't you simply stick your proposed name on some trivial app, like a tip calculator or flashlight or something, and see if it gets approved. Most app names have nothing to do with their function anyway so it's clear Apple makes no judgment about a name's relevance to an app. After they approve the dummy app, then pull it and stick the name on your real app. I'm not a developer, so apologies in advance if there is some obvious reason why this can't work.
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mex said 3:42AM on 10-16-2009
and what you expect? that they start review your "ideas" instead of submitted apps?
If you work correctly it won't be such a doomsday swap the title of your title and replace few PNG files for the art-works... com'n!
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Lars said 3:45AM on 10-16-2009
Naming related, sorta, I thought it was funny: my blind dad uses a 3Gs with Voice Over (which works like a charm, I might add) and has an app from the Dutch soccer magazine Voetbal International.
The app is named "VI" for understandable reasons, but my dad couldn't find it after he installed it. Turns out Voice Over is so ivy league classy that the app is pronounced "six" - as in the Roman numeral. :)
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kmcgrady90 said 3:58AM on 10-16-2009
I you have to actually contact Apple to see if your app name will pass review you should just think of another name. With all the information the provide on what is OK and what is not you should not be walking the line like this especially on something so trivial. Also if his app is a calculator like the one in the picture it should be pretty easy to name and shouldn't require this level of investigation. Otherwise my first point still stands.
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kmcgrady90 said 3:59AM on 10-16-2009
Sorry just noticed a few spelling errors in that comment.
Dirk said 5:28AM on 10-16-2009
While I agree the approval process needs a lot of work, demanding Apple to pre-approve of your app name goes much too far. Seriously. Pick a name that doesn't infringe existing trademarks (or is your own) and doesn't insult people.
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Andy said 7:14AM on 10-16-2009
I had an App rejected because it's initial name 'JED Eyes' was deemed to infringe Lucas Films copyright (even though there it technically no copyrighted word used). I resubmitted, only to have another rejection due to using the phrase 'Star Wars' in the metadata keywords (these are not even visible in iTunes, and are only used for searches).
Anyway, the app is in for it's third attempt at approval now - shouldn't be long. It's not called 'Space Binos' and will turn your iPhone into a pair of Luke Skywalker style Macrobinoculars. Look out for it soon ! :-)
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Andy said 7:15AM on 10-16-2009
Argh - I mean, it's "now called 'Space Binos'" !
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airmanchairman said 7:42AM on 10-16-2009
Come on!!
The problem of identical application names is common to and even goes beyond all software platforms, whether mobile, desktop or whatever.
Any chance of a balanced view here of how this issue is handled on other platforms or in the desktop world etc?
Lord knows how many lawsuits are filed the length and breadth of the known Universe for name and logo infringements. Naturally the larger corporations are more familiar with this process, probably having fallen foul of its provisions at one time or the other.
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Goingblind said 8:10AM on 10-16-2009
Is it just me or are we all getting over excited regarding the approval process. The movies industry can sometimes invest millions of $/£ into producing a movie and then have to present it for classification, not knowing if the original movie will receive any classification let alone the desired one. Many movies are then re-edited and in various countries renamed to suit either the demands of the bodies classifying the movie or previous art/movies with the same or similar name.
I agree you know roughly what you can and can't get away with in a 12 rated movie before you start filming, however as the classifications are awarded by humans the goal posts move and change depending on that person/s interpretation of the rules or guidelines and it's the same in with the App store or any system with a gate keeper. This doesn't mean it's a perfect system, but I would like to think our Apple rulers have protected us from apps we really don't want!
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DaveyJJ said 8:55AM on 10-16-2009
I'd rather have root canal than assume I'm going to get any help at all via email from Apple's "Developer Relations" folks. Their email is a black hole of darkness.
I had to make changes, at Apple's request, to my seven apps in the store. I did, and four weeks ago emailed to let them know they were done and needed their help to complete, once again, the changes that THEY requested. Not a word since. Nothing. Nada. Four weeks.
If any other company didn't bother getting back to me after four weeks I'd never, ever do business with them again. But this is what developers go through to play in Apple's little closed garden.
I think I'll just go to HTML5, JS and CSS for apps and forget the store all together from now on.
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