I thought this would be easy to find out, but it seems hard to track down. Let's say i have an app to submit that (for example) enables pigs to fly. My idea would either patent-pending or patented and likely under NDA.
What assurances, if any, do i have that the reviewer(s) at Apple won't call the local press, or their favourite pig friend and reveal this app idea?
I am assuming that there is a strong element of trust, but i rarely like to assume in business.
thanks for any insights.
Have you read the terms of your Developer program agreement, and the terms of application submission recently? :-/
All of the assurances that you're going to get are going to be in that.
Thank you notmyname, i appreciate the gentle nudge. I scraped around for some time looking, i spent time searching, and never explcitly found the answer i asked. Clearly i could have easily missed it, but it is am important topic, not found in searching the forums (at least with my keywords), hence, again, the question.
Anyone with relevant links or knowledge, that would be aweome. I have contacted a source who should know, and have preliminary reassurance, and am awaiting explicit information.
As an app developer myself, I think this level of secrecy is unjustified. You will never get your idea off the ground if you are as secretive as this. Revolutionary ideas are rare, they are usually iterations of previous ideas, and for this reason I don't sign NDA's at the moment unless necessary. However..
For your case, if you get as far as Apple review your app is already developed. You have such an advantage on the market that anyone who learns of your idea has a pretty major disadvantage already. If your idea is as good as you think it is, then when your app hits the store, provided it is properly presented on the app store, it will be such a hit with users that you will have the advantage of being first to market. An idea is worth nothing, your competitors have the disadvantage of having to carry out the real work of executing that idea, making it better than yours, and overcoming your first to market advantage.
Against your case is the following clause, which says that Apple can develop competition to your app. I believe that this clause is necessary for Apple to evolve their products without being stopped by small players - for instance, so they can develop their "Notes" and "Weather" apps without being stopped by Evernote and Dark Sky for instance.
The clause :
Here is item 11 of the Apple Developer Agreement
Apple Independent Development. Nothing in this Agreement will impair Apple’s right to develop, acquire, license, market, promote or distribute products, software or technologies that perform the same or similar functions as, or otherwise compete with, any other products, software or technologies that you may develop, produce, market, or distribute. In the absence of a separate written agreement to the contrary, Apple will be free to use any information, suggestions or recommendations you provide to Apple pursuant to this Agreement for any purpose, subject to any applicable patents or copyrights.
This is the part of the Developer agreement where you agree to the opposite of what you're looking for:
10.3 Information Submitted to Apple Not Deemed Confidential
Apple works with many application and software developers and some of their products may be similar to or compete with Your Applications. Apple may also be developing its own similar or competing applications and products or may decide to do so in the future. To avoid potential misunderstandings, Apple cannot agree, and expressly disclaims, any confidentiality obligations or use restrictions, express or implied, with respect to any information that You may provide in connection with this Agreement or the Program, including information about Your Application, Licensed Application Information and metadata (such disclosures will be referred to as “Licensee Disclosures”). You agree that any such Licensee Disclosures will be non-confidential. Apple will be free to use and disclose any Licensee Disclosures on an unrestricted basis without notifying or compensating You. You release Apple from all liability and obligations that may arise from the receipt, review, use, or disclosure of any portion of any Licensee Disclosures. Any physical materials You submit to Apple will become Apple property and Apple will have no obligation to return those materials to You or to certify their destruction.
Outside of that which is explicitly spelled out in the developer agreements that you signed when
joining and continuing in the developer program, there is nothing spelled out that says they won't
like your idea and create their own version of it. You do not supply source code to Apple so, they
would first have to recognise your idea as something really unique and of value and second have
to implement that thing from scratch. All the while, your original app, algorithm and idea are
in tact and remain your property. One example that frankly was a dumb but cool idea, was a
panorama photo taking app that used the iPhones vibrations controlled by a patented algorithm
to rotate the phone. It was a cool idea when iPhones had sharp flat edges, now its a useless
idea without adding a platform of some kind to do the same thing. The sad part is, that patent
did land investors who frankly had no clue about it's underlying flaws.
Like that developer, you likely have some idea that you think will be revolutionary with current
hardware and it might. Sadly, current hardware is only current for a very short time.
