Sunday, June 26, 2011

Competitor Named App Very Similar To Mine Trademark Infringement Cybersquatting

I had diligently checked the app store for similar apps to my first before submitting to Apple.  Nonetheless, somebody may have beat me to the punch and released a similar app 2 weeks prior to mine  However, I did file for a trademark for $325 on my app name shortly after submitting which gives me specific legal rights that trump whoever was first to market.

I contacted the competitor politely asking them to change their app name because it was sufficiently similar to my pending trademark name to cause confusion and they agreed to change their icon, but not their descriptive name.  It might be splitting hairs, but the similar descriptive name places their app right next to mine on app store searches and thus my claim that it will cause confusion.  Likewise, I have several print ads with my app name and having a similarly named app could also cause confusion.  Just for reference, my app name is "Vegas Casino Maps" whereas theirs is "Vegas Maps: Casino Maps for the Las Vegas Strip and Beyond" Needless to say, I will follow up with another request and possibly have an IP attorney draft a letter to both Apple and the competitor claiming trademark infringement.

The response I got back from the competitor suggested that they were first to market and that my pending trademark was a supplemental trademark and thus not sufficiently distinct inferring that I would not have any enforceable rights.  Nonetheless, a supplemental trademark provides these specific rights
  • Bring infringement suit in federal court
  • Can be used against future application of confusing similar mark
  • Owner can use ® to symbolize federal registration
  • Owner can enforce some uses of trademark on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Twiter, Facebook, etc.
Additionally, Apple can be considered in collusion if they allow another developer to infringe on my IP rights, therefore Apple is pretty good about protecting IP rights of trademark owners.

After a few weeks of polite emails back and forth, we came to an agreement wherein the competitor agreed to completely change their app name.

So why go through all this trouble?  In my case, the app is making enough sales to make it worthwhile to protect the name and ultimately the revenue I worked so hard to acquire.


Getting a Trademark
If you would like to get a trademark, here's where to start http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/index.jsp

The trademark application can be done online and mine about 2 hours.  They suggest you watch a short video before filling out the application which is well worth the time.  Be prepared to pay a non-refundable $325 fee with a credit card for the application.

My trademark took about 6 months to process and I now have a frame-able piece of paper that shows the certified trademark from the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Other Benefits of Have a Trademark
Somebody else is cybersquatting on the website name VegasCasinoMaps.com and the owner wants $3500 for the domain rights.  I offered them a reasonable $500, and they counter offered $1750.  I'm all for free enterprise and all but a trademark only costs $325 and with the trademarked name, the cybersquatter has virtually no chance of retaining any rights to the domain name once I contest it with ICANN.


Update: I ended up purchasing the domain for $1750 and took a week to transfer the domain, rather than try to fight them in court, which could have taken months and quite a bit more money.  Even with the ICANN arbitration, there's a small window of time, something like 21 days, where the cybersquatter can file a counter suit in federal court effectively bypassing the ICANN arbitration and the loss of $1200 ICANN arbitration fee.  And once the federal suit has been filed, the venue will be in whatever state the cybersquatter filed in. 

I still find it fascinating that I had to pay, while the cybersquatter effectively broke the law.



About Me
If you would like to know more about my apps, here's my website http://www.SmartLittleKid.com

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Review of Gizmobie 3M Skins for Macbook Pro 15, Returned for Refund

While at Frys, we noticed some interesting designs for Macbook Pro skins and since there were no prices posted, we took it up to the cashier.  After $34.99 + tax, we were walking out the door with one.   Instruction on how to attach the skin were supposed to be at their website but when I went there, there were no instructions.  I did, however, manage to find instructions at another site.  After carefully mounting the skin and smoothing it down along the edges, no matter how much I pushed on the edges, they refused to stay attached to surface of the laptop.  The skin attached great on the flat surfaces but where the case bends, the skin would not stay attached, so there is a sticky lip of the skin all along the rounded edges of the laptop.  I suppose there is a possibility that the skin will relax after a while and may stick better, but to be honest I would have expected the product to work better.  Therefore, this skin is going right back to Frys.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Vegas Casino Maps mobile app update

Airport Car Rental map has been added and Circus Circus map has been updated http://tinyurl.com/4ywzsrg  #LasVegas #Android #iPhone

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Getting Started with Mobile App Development

If you are just getting started with mobile apps, here's some advice about where to start.  I use Adobe Flash Professional CS5 for my app development because the same project can be used for iOS, Android or Blackberry app development.  There are just as many Android users as iPhone users, so you can double your customer base by learning a single product.  RIM has a fair market share too and certainly worth learning about how to release apps for that market.

Recommended Path
1) Install Flash Professional, free for 30 day trial, then about $400 for a retail version
2) Read the first section of Professional Flash Mobile Development to get the development environment set up and run the HelloWorld application
3) Learn Flash by watching the Free Videos from Adobe (40 hours)
4) Learn Action Script by watching th Free Videos (8 hours)
5) (optional) Google "Flash Games" to see what other people have already done
6) (optional) Create a new bank account 
7) Register with Apple ($100), Google ($25) and BlackBerry (Free for now) as a developer.  (Note: You will need a PayPal account to sign up with BlackBerry.)
8) Submit your app to Apple, Google and BlackBerry.  Preparing the app for submittal is fairly involved and somewhat different for each platform and is not covered in detail this blog posting.

Obviously, mobile app development is a fairly involved process that takes persistence more than anything else and here are some of the items you will need

Items You Will Need
  • Computer (Mac or Windows), I have use a Lenovo laptop and a Macbook Pro laptop
  • Adobe Flash Professional CS3 or higher, around $400
  • Mobile device(s), I have an iPhone 4 and Samsung Captivate and swap the same SIM card between the 2 devices.
  • Book Professional Flash Mobile Development, $26.39 at Amazon
  • (Optional) Wacom tablet for gesture events on a computer, $129 at Frys
Video Tutorials
  • I'm a big fan of video tutorials for learning software products, and luckily Adobe publishes a boatload of free videos at http://tv.adobe.com, and I would suggest watching some or all of the Flash Getting Started Videos
  • Flash uses a programming language called Action Script and here's where you can learn about how to program in Action Script video tutorial series
  • (Optional) If you want to model 2D physics in your apps like Angry Birds, you can add a free library called Box2D.  Here's an extensive tutorial about how to use the library functions and part 2 is an excellent tutorial on a comprehensive example of how to use Object Oriented Programming techniques.
 Tips
  •  If you are going to develop apps for an iPhone, you will need an iPhone.  It's possible to develop Android apps with just the emulator, but I found it much easier to test on an actual device.  If you have an iPhone, then you won't need an iPad for development, although it might help.  I use an iPhone as my primary mobile phone and physically remove the iPhone SIM card from the iPhone and put it in the Android when I need 3G access.  These 2 devices use different size SIM cards, so I use an adapter that holds the iPhone 4 micros SIM so the contacts match up with the Android contacts.
  • One of the great features of mobile apps is the ability to use gestures, like a pinch gesture to zoom out or swipe gesture to move to the next picture.  The iPhone emulator will recognize 2 finger gestures by pressing the ALT key along with the mouse.  However, I could never find out how to do the same thing with the Android emulator.  Plus, some things are just easier using a tablet.
  • My first app took several months to complete before I submitted it to Apple.  Then Apple took exactly one week to approve.  Google does not have an approval process, so once you upload your app and click the publish button, it's available in the Market.  BlackBerry has an approval process and so far, the process takes more than a week.
  • Try to keep notes on the submittal process so you can reference your notes later on when it's time to do an upgrade, otherwise its easy to get confused and frustrated by the process.
www.SmartLittleKid.com

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Error signing up for Vendor Portal for Blackberry App World: Solved

"We are not able to process your payment using your PayPal account at this time. Please return to the recipient's website to complete your transaction using their regular checkout flow. "

The solution was to have a confirmed credit card on the PayPal account.  I also happen to have a verified bank account on PayPal, but I don't know if that is required by RIM.  To confirm a credit card, the card has to be added to the PayPal account, then there's a process where they charge $1.95 to the card with a specific description.  After 2 days, I was able to access the charge description online and enter that description back into PayPal.  Once entered, I was able to complete the Blackberry registration.  Now I have to wait for RIM to review the application and let me know what the next step is. 

Background
Here's the background of how I found this problem.  I had a signed bar file ready to upload to RIM, but I was getting an error just trying to sign up for the Vendor Portal for Blackberry App World on step 3 of 4, verifying my PayPal account.  I have a verified bank account through PayPal and there are no online restrictions on the credit card I'm using.  In fact, the bank has verified that the RIM transaction has been approved by my credit card.  Nonetheless, I get the same error every time.  I have tried to contact RIM support through their online form, but I wasn't holding my breath for a response... Also, I had already signed up with RIM for the BlackBerry SDK, so it seems a little strange that I have to repeat the entire process again to upload my completed app, although this time they're verifying a PayPal account.

Additional Info about registering
3 business days after finishing the Registration, I finally got an email back from BlackBerry App World requesting
Official company documentation (ex. Articles of Incorporation, Business License). 
or an individual may provide either
1) A copy (front and back) of an official Government Issued Identification, clearly showing your name and date of birth or
2) A completed Notary Form attached. Anyone certified as a Notary can complete this for you (check your local listings).

Maybe I'm a bit impatient, but it's taking longer to get authorized to submit my app than it did to author it.

It took a day to review the Articles of Incorporation and Business License and this morning I uploaded my signed bar file.  What was not obvious was that I needed another 480x480 pixel icon file and up to 50 screenshots that are no larger than 640x640 pixels.  That screenshot size seems little odd considering that the Playbook resolution is 1024x600.  But anyway, the upload process timed out before I could finish creating the icon and screenshot files.

If you would like to know more about my apps, please check out www.SmartLittleKid.com

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Atlantic City Casino Maps for the iPhone

Let's face it, casinos are designed to get you lost so you can't find the exit.  Now you can find your way with Atlantic City Casino maps on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. 

If you would like to know more about my apps, please check out www.SmartLittleKid.com