“Apple has been accused of ‘ripping off’ a student developer’s iPhone app which was submitted to and rejected by the firm’s App Store,” Tom Chivers and Christopher Williams report for The Telegraph. “The company allegedly released an app with the same functions, a near-identical logo and the same name, a year after telling the developer that his app was rejected for “security concerns” and for doing things outside the official software development kit’s limits.”
“Greg Hughes, a third year computer science student at the University of Birmingham, developed an application called ‘Wi-Fi Sync’ and offered it to Apple’s App Store in May 2010. The app was designed to sync iTunes libraries with iPhones over a wireless wireless network rather than via a USB connector,” Chivers and Williams report. “After the App Store rejected his submission Mr Hughes put his app up for sale on the Cydia store, a rival to the App Store which sells software for ‘jailbroken’ iPhones… The app, priced at $9.99 (£6.07), has become one of Cydia’s top products, selling more than 50,000 copies since its release.”
Chivers and Williams report, “But this Monday, Apple unveiled its new iPhone operating system, iOS 5, with an inbuilt feature also called Wi-Fi Sync, which carries out the same wireless syncing function. It also has a very similar logo.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hughes’ icon looks like it was based on the icon for Apple’s iSync, which exited beta on January 2, 2003. Beyond that, syncing via Wi-Fi is hardly an original idea, so only a code comparison would show if there’s any “ripping off” going on.
[Attribution: AppleInsider. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lava_Head_UK” for the heads up.]
I’m sure that the app store management is very careful not to undermine its developers by rejecting an app then releasing the same app under the apple moniker. If it got out that Apple was doing this it would doom the app development process out into the future.
Developers need to know that when they submit an app to the store it won’t be denied due to some guy at Apple saying, “hey, we should steal this one, it’s cool.”
Hey, may be Apple did not accept this App because they were developing their own. I doubt The Apple Inc would steal an App from a developer. In such case Apple should have denied this App saying that they have a similar application being developed in house.
Only problem with that is that they generally don’t comment on future products or upcoming features. All they could do was deny it, and release the feature when it was ready. Sounds like exactly what they did.
It is amusing that this kid combined Apple’s existing WiFi icon, with the iSync icon, then gets upset with Apple does the same thing later on. As for functionality, did anyone really think iOS devices would be stuck with USB as the only way to sync forever? It was only a matter of time.
MDN’s take is right on. The guy has made $500,000 from this. I’d say that is a good start. Write another appnthat can b sold in the App Store and he could make a lot more.
holy crap… I saw the 50,000 and thought thats what he made, had to go back up and see he SOLD 50,000 copies at 9.99…. damn.
the kid should be happy he made that money. take it and think up some new idea. now he’s just getting greedy.
The idea is not if he made load of money or nothing, it’s the principle!
It’s easy for you to say be grateful and leave it be, but he did make an app and made a concept into a reality.
I’m not saying apple stole the idea or not but his concerns for now are valid.
What Clipper9 said below.
“It won’t be the first time an OS update has rendered 3rd party apps useless.”
and remember, he used Apple’s software to create an app that went against the terms of use for the dev software… “his app was rejected for “security concerns” and for doing things outside the official software development kit’s limits.”
Pretty sure this lawsuit will go nowhere.
Apple is simply loosing its innovation groove, first lock screen of Windows Mobile 6.5, notification center of Android, camera button and slide preview that violates MS’s patent, now this! You kidding me!? Now they are not necessarily copying others, but this sure shows that their magical vision is showing age and getting impaired…
correction…. the notification center type stuff, were FIRST on the Cydia app store.. not android. if anything android copied Cydia developers.
Correction #2. Windows mobile 6.5…. released in 2009. wait… iPhone released 2007… lock screen hasn’t changed since release. the notification center as seen above, evolved from the Cydia JB community not android. I have been using Lockinfo since about 4 days after i got my very first iPhone, LockInfo and mobilenotifier are almost exactly what the notification center for iOS 5 is. not copies from Android. I remember Status Notifier was one of the first ones out there.
correction #3…
the camera button for the volume button. again… do research.
MS may have put an actual button on their phones. fine. but the tweaks to use the volume buttons for camera have been around on Cydia since the beginning of time. it was one of the first things people complained about on the very first iPhone, lack of a hardware button for camera.
and the slide preview? you do know that all apple did is take the preview ALREADY used in viewing pictures, and added that to the camera screen to go back to the picture instead of press the on screen button…
Go ahead, open up photos on any iOS device, view a picture and swipe in either direction. Wait…wasn’t that feature there from the very first iOS device? did MS go and copy something that Apple was doing? but change it enough by removing a button… and copying apples gestures BTW… and patent it for themselves?
oh wait, MS copied the ability to Copy/Paste from Apple.
c’mon, MS phones did NOT ship with copy/paste functions… Apple already had Copy/Paste…
so it’s just obvious that MS copied apple…
see i can make false accusations also.
I doubt much will come from the Apple/MS dispute over this.
but i know Android idiots and MS windows phone 07 users will claim whatever they want for years. Tiles and open source FTW!!!!!1!!!1!!!!!
oh just in case you wanted to know…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history
Look at the notifications… released in Sept 2008.
and then go look at JB apps like Intelliscreen, which showed up back in May 2008…… oh noes…. Android copied the JB community.
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=1284
here’s the official release date, but you can go back in history and see the write up from may about it and how to install the earlier release.
note the MAIL icon next to the battery…
loosing?
Apple loosed their innovation groove, alright. They loosed it on a complacent industry and left their competitors flummoxed.
Agree.
So if Apple did an Angry Birds knockoff, Rovio should just be happy that they made all the money they did, and that they won’t be allowed to make any more?
Yes.
Not the same. Angry Birds didn’t didn’t get rejected. Angry Birds didn’t use any unauthorised APIs. Angry Birds didn’t break the T&C. The app got rejected because it changed the itunes library which wasn’t sandboxed.
If the guy was to resubmit the app now, it may be allowed as iTunes is now sandboxed, and the security issues could be avoided.
Actually, it wouldn’t be 500 grand. I’m pretty sure the site would take a good percentage of that. Still, he did make a pretty penny off that
i was trying to see what cydia’s commission was, all i can find is that it is “comparable” to the app store. dunno if that means 30% or what.
then they say Cydia uses google and paypal for the payment, i assume they take a portion after a certain amount.
still, the guy made a ton of money..
Weird. When I first read this yesterday, my thoughts were exactly what the MDN Take is.
I think I spend too much time here.
A friend posted this on Facebook and we had pretty much the same argument. It’s funny they’d make a big deal about the icon – it doesn’t take a genius to combine Apple’s sync icon with Apple’s WiFi icon. But it’s quite a cheeky monkey that accuses them of stealing it back.
this will be the first of many lawsuits honestly.
When i was surfing through the JB community websites the other day looking at iOS 5 screenshots of the notification center being compared to other Lock screen and notification apps on Cydia.
there were many crying that Apple is ripping off the cydia developers… and that every app they make that will now be obsolete in iOS5 should sue apple. and many calls for Cydia developers to copyright all their work so Apple can’t do it in the future.
bunch of crybabies IMO.
Unless Apple directly copied the code.. they can add features that make retail 3rd party apps obsolete every day.
the ONLY reason the 3rd party apps are there is because Apple didn’t put the idea in iOS out of the box.
I doubt the lawsuit will go against apple. sure the actual JB is not illegal.. but selling 3rd party apps that work “outside the official software development kit’s limits.” is not going to go well in court.
and thats why i NEVER purchased any Cydia apps while i was JB, at any time Apple could make the apps obsolete in a single update.
WRONG!!! It’s Apple’s SDK, it’s Apple’s IP, it’s Apple’s store!! If developers want to make money off Apple, than follow their rules! It smacks of arrogance when someone intentionally tries to make money off of your ideas, than turns around & cries foul when they upgrade their ideas! If you didn’t want Apple to use your software you should: a) not sell your apps in Cydia. Cydia is a hack into Apples IP. Therefore, all apps, software & firmware belongs to Apple; b) Don’t complain about Apple not adopting your ideas when using their SDK & selling their IP’s on an un-authorized market. Developers are basically giving away their ideas for FREE on Cydia. It’s software only made for the iPhone (owned by Apple). Wake up!!
oh i’m not siding with Cydia or the apps sold there..
I’m just saying THEY are whining and wanting to sue apple. I just said it won’t be the last one, i highly doubt any of them will go anywhere unless apple blatantly copied code.. but i doubt that.
I think 99% of us would come up with that same icon for a Wi-Fi sync app. It’s kinda obvious.
i know i would.. i’m not very “artistic” so yeah i’d base my icon off another
Since the icon combines Apple’s own Wi-Fi icon and Apple’s own iSync icon, the student’s claim sounds really ridiculous.
No. I meant that it’s a combination of the symbol for wi-fi (that Apple popularized and Winblows and the rest of the world appropriated) and the circle of arrows that Apple used for iSync. So, it’s this guy who ripped off Apple with his icon.
Icon is not the issue. Mr. Hughes should have changed his app and resubmitted it within the boundaries set by Apple. I do not write apps, and do not know the specific issues for which Apple rejected the app.
I do believe in principles though.
Now, we don’t know if Apple had been developing this app all along so that also figures in making a judgment. And in reading the original article, Apple may indeed take him onboard after he graduates. Hope so.
I agree with most comments here. Give that developer some cheese to go with his whine or give him a tit to suckle & stifle his crying! Lol
If the developer didn’t trademark his “logo/icon” or at the very least copyright it his case holds no water. If his code was copied maybe.
The wifi and sync icons are right next to each other on the top bar of my mac… smash ’em together and you get wireless sync. This guy is a doofus. He invented an iOS level function that was still in beta at Apple and got rejected.
I would be worse if they accepted the app. It takes a lot longer for a function imbedded in the OS to go through all of the testing than a stand alone app. It seems obvious Apple rejected the app because it duplicated something they were already designing. This is the same reason Disney parks don’t take suggestions – too often plans are already in progress and then somebody says “That was my idea, and I left it at the park with Guest Services!” Rejecting the app is the first step in protecting their own intellectual property. Right now, there are probably plans for iOS 6, 7 and maybe 8 that have many features we’ll see pop up in the jailbreak community. We know that Apple will pay if they need too (Lulu and Siri being two examples) so if this (or the iCloud infringement suit) should have been handled it would have.
I’d wager money that Apple’s version actually works better than his does. Just go look for the many, many complaints of the app not working as promised and all the “just wait ’till the next version comes out” excuses. Take your money and run. It won’t be the first time an OS update has rendered 3rd party apps useless.
I requested a refund. This crAPP doesn’t work for me at all. I payed the “special” price of $2.99 instead of the 10 bucks or so. 3 bucks wont make me richer, but I sure as hell don’t want to give even a penny to some whining punk who offers something that does not work and have the cojones to charge for IT!!!!
I believe the functionality between the app and iOS5 is rather different.
The app syncs wi-fi to wi-fi, whereas iOS5 syncs via iCloud and not directly between devices. Even if the end result is the same, the roads taken are different (sans using TCP/IP over wi-fi as the transport.)
No, WiFi Sync in iOS 5 allows syncing between your iOS device and your desktop/laptop.
Let’s see:
1. Fandroids and Wintards and PalmHeads have been making fun of Apple for years for not having Wifi sync.
2. Apple’s dev agreement told everyone they shouldn’t bother messing with it.
3. Every rumor site in the world has been talking about Apple’s plans to turn on a massive data center and totally revamp MobileMe.
4. Every pundit in the world wondered why Apple hadn’t implemented wifi sync yet.
And this guy didn’t have a heads up?
The introduction of a Wi-Fi Sync function is an obvious next step in the development of the hand held devices. Sure, Hughes was out in front of Apple in producing an app. But the real question is, did Apple actually steal any protected intellectual property from Hughes? The basic idea of a Wi-Fi Sync is not protectable. But if there was something unique or new about how Hughes’s app was written, and Apple copied it, then he may have a case. Otherwise, not.
I agree. Thats like Ford suing Chevy for making cars. Or Mead suing someone for making paper with lines on it. Unless they copied the code from this guy (didn’t M$ do something like that with defrag?), then this kid should roll around a few times in his cool $500K and work on his next brilliant idea.
Maybe he can merge the wifi and battery icons together for charging via wifi.
Apple knew years ago they needed this function. There is no foulplay here. It’s one of the most obvious missing functions. He’s upset at his soon to be diminished income. His early cleverness was richly rewarded. Congrats. Move on and invest those dollars in apple stock.
A lot of missing things are “obvious.”
We need another power source. You develop it, the Power Company suddenly does the same thing. What now?
This is how it has played out.
1. Guy writes an app that doesn’t work properly and rips off Apple (and industry) trademarked Icons, but provides a function that lots of people want even though it is unstable and can corrupt your iTunes library.
2. Submits to Apple.
3. Apple says great job kid, but you have some security issues to address: those are a, b and c
4. Guy has a choice a) recode using the advice of Apple (and get a job with them when he finishes school) or b) say screw you Apple, I don’t need your store.
5. Guy choses b. Makes $500k using pretty average app and Apple’s icons.
6. Apple gets to a point where the system can securely support wifi-syncing without corrupting the system, and adds it into OS (so other apps can use it as well).
7. Guy has choice. a) Make app better and more functional – which takes time and effort. b) take legal action – which takes time and money or c) complain to press – which takes no time, no effort and no cost.
8. Guy chooses c hoping to guilt trip Apple into giving him some free money on top of the $500k already earned.
9. Fandroids go crazy and say how evil Apple is.
I will never understand how these companies work. Sometimes they make money out of the products that they did not originally make then beat the crap out of there competitors with it and other times they make their own that is just as good. That kid should make some major improvements to his app that makes it better than apple’s
iOS5 probably had a blueprint of features slated around about September 2009 after iOS3 was pretty much stabilised .
The reason he probably received a NON-STANDARD rejection of his app (with an invitation to contact Apple with a copy of his resume) in May 2010 was because they knew what they wanted to do in iOS5 and knew it would be quicker to have this guy adapt and re-write to merge into iOS5 than start from scratch.
If he didn’t have the smarts to read the sub-lexical text, that’s too bad.
Apple had been delivering wireless sync for mail, contacts, calendar and notes using either GPRS or Wi-Fi since July 2008. Music was just the last brick in the wall – the basic tech was there, they probably simply needed to ensure that wireless sync for music recognised the concerns of the rights holders (encryption presumably ) and that they had the consent of those rights holders.
The disputed technology isn’t novel, it’s just moving a form of data that – until iCloud – Apple chose not to permit because it has to maintain relationships with key content partners.
If he’s earned 500,000 notes, he’s done very well. Admittedly if he’d become “part of the ship, part of the crew” for a substantive period, a few decent set of share options would have dealt with that.
Next case.
Writing apps that are an obvious next iteration for the OS, is not “ripping off”.
Any time you write an OS utility, there is the risk of the idea being good enough to be incorporated into the next OS release. This has been going on for ages, and by Apple as well as other operating system authors.
It’s only an issue if they actually copied the kid’s code.
This has nothing to do with the kid violating SDK terms, and everything to do with Apple disallowing access to core features (WiFi transfers) in order to protect themselves from possible piracy and trade of their biggest assets today, iTunes media files. That’s right, it’s all about money, tons of money, and Apple’s corporate greed to control every bit of it.
What makes Android “open” is exactly why the mainstream media moguls are leery of it – they don’t want their property stolen easily and shared wirelessly at every schoolyard on earth during a recess frenzy. However, Google just wants to sell ads, so they don’t care … much … but they are kowtowing gradually too.
Apple will tell the kid to go pound sand or face litigation for facilitating piracy under the DCMA. At worst they could pull an MS trick and delay until he runs out of money.
Ok so if apple banned it why are they releasing a “similar” version for it? Apples probably just jelus (sorry for the wrong spelling) if the app was patented or copyrifhted he should sue but if not he should have done so before submission
Apple has certainly purchased applications from third party developers in the past. Examples:
– SoundJam MP was purchased and made into iTunes.
– WindowShade was purchased, (but sadly dumped from Mac OS X).
I heard rummors of apple copying Apps from other people once. Not certain if it is true though
So far I see no sign of a justified lawsuit here. That the developer whined about the icon gives away the fact that he’s in crocodile tears mode:
OBVIOUSLY the developer’s icon is itself a ripoff. It combines Apple’s own Airport icon and iSync icon. How original. FAIL. And obviously Apple can combine their own icons into whatever they like. WIN.
The only concern I would have would be if Apple obfuscated why they rejected his app. Did it have security concerns? Perhaps so, perhaps not. The app was certainly a good idea, had a ready audience, and was inevitable. It is logical that Apple had already planned the feature for some time in the future.
I didn’t say you don’t have a “real” problem. But Apple has probably sold a few hundred thousand of these new iMacs by now, so if it was a widespread problem, the Genius Bar would have a line going out the door. I was at an Apple Store yesterday, and everything looked pretty normal…
Since it is fairly new, you should insist it be resolved under warranty (or AppleCare if you bought it). If it can’t be resolved with your iMac, you should ask for a replacement.
If you haven’t done so already, you may want to try booting from the Snow Leopard installation disc, erasing the hard drive, and doing a new standard installation. And if you did ANY type of “migration” previously (with the initial startup), don’t to it this time. Use it “as it” with a fresh install, with only Software Update installing the latest Apple updates. If it still has this problem, you need to get it resolved instead of waiting for Apple to issue some unknown “driver update.” It may be faulty hardware.