Too much copying from other developers:

I had an issue before that one developer literally copied the whole layout of the one watchface that I created.

Now I encountered another one but with the description, it is fine to copy but please rephrase the sentences.

GearMin 2.0 and Blend have this kind of Trial Period Notes:

This one simply copied the whole idea:

Or if you are going to copy, at least get some permission because it is kind of annoying seeing practices like this, be a professional.

Thanks,

Mashake

Top Replies

dpawlyk over 4 years ago in reply to flowstate +2

flowstate said:
I'm not a lawyer, but I think automatic copyright is meaningless unless steps are taken to establish / defend it.

Yes. That’s also pretty much true for everything (not just copyright…
Former Member over 4 years ago +1

_MASHAKE_ Not sure you are owning the concept of having a trial period in an app. That's a pretty bold statement.

All Replies

jim_m_58 over 4 years ago

Nothing prohibits cloning an app unless you have a copyright/trademark.

And cloning a paid app to make it free is common

dpawlyk over 4 years ago in reply to jim_m_58

flowstate over 4 years ago in reply to dpawlyk

I'm not a lawyer, but I think automatic copyright is meaningless unless steps are taken to establish / defend it.

blog.traklight.com/is-copyright-automatic

While you have copyright automatically upon making your work manifest, that protection doesn't do much should you need to take action to protect it. In order to file a lawsuit for infringement of your copyrighted work, that work needs to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Having your work registered with the provides a definitive public record that will be accepted in court should the matter go that far. While you might not be overly enthusiastic about the possibility of having to go to court, the threat of legal action can serve to keep at least some potential infringement at bay.

The kind of thing we are talking about here is closer to unspoken "gentlemen's" agreements not to overtly copy certain aspects of apps, which is of course especially meaningless if people are trying to make money. I have definitely seen a watchface in the store which blatantly copied the unique graphic design of someone else's data field without even giving credit to the data field's author, or the original designer (who was credited by the data field's author).

(I do think I would be annoyed if someone cloned one of my non-trivial apps -- "luckily" they're so niche that nobody has bothered to do so. I do have a niche app which uses the same basic idea as two other dev's apps, and I did give credit to them, but I doubt they care.)

Then again, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

dpawlyk over 4 years ago in reply to flowstate

flowstate said:
I'm not a lawyer, but I think automatic copyright is meaningless unless steps are taken to establish / defend it.

Yes. That’s also pretty much true for everything (not just copyright).

Former Member over 4 years ago

_MASHAKE_ Not sure you are owning the concept of having a trial period in an app. That's a pretty bold statement.

Joe Berger over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

While you are correct, this sucks when it happens. I feel your pain, MASHAKE

Nikeow over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

Trial Period is not a concept he's referring to as "his". He's referring to the verbatim copying of the wordings used and the like