3 ms·

Sort of buried the lede here -- Apple uses the Inkwell name and has a trademark. This is just not going to get approved. Or, to quote Jobs talking to the iPodRi

Sort of buried the lede here -- Apple uses the Inkwell name and has a trademark. This is just not going to get approved. Or, to quote Jobs talking to the iPodRip developer "Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal."

vegadw 5mo ago
used. Apple used. It's legally a dead trademark, so Apple is claiming ownership of something they've already abandoned, but enforcing that nobody else can reclaim it, despite being a good name. That's not right, they don't just get to name squat.
- armada651 5mo ago
  What's legal doesn't matter, it's their store, if they want to claim they own the word Pear too they can do that. I think holding that kind of power over devices people own is problematic, but I seem to be in the minority here.
  - jasonjayr 5mo ago
    Amusingly, a bunch of series of teen shows used to use "Pear PC" to get around the trademark issue on all their on screen technology...
  - eikenberry 5mo ago
    +1 .. the problem isn't that Apple is denying their app, the problem is the developer decided to submit it to the Apple store.
    - jamesdeakee 5mo ago
      [flagged]
- thaumasiotes 5mo ago
  Fun fact: this same process is how Vietnam got its name. Their earlier proposal of Nam Viet had fallen out of use, but still couldn't get approval.
etothet 5mo ago
Perhaps you’re right. Apple's App Store review can be a rough process. Then again, a search of “Inkwell” in the App Store shows plenty of apps that are named “Inkwell”, many of then writing-related.
- vessenes 5mo ago
  Oh I didn't say they'd be consistent. But once it's raised, it's going to be really tough.
  - Barbing 5mo ago
    Agreed. Vanishingly few enforcers have ever said "wait, we let other people do it? Ohhhh go ahead!" Much more extreme example, I read a court case where the cops were really annoyed the perp told them they should've been enforcing $muchWorseCrime elsewhere. Judge wasn't a fan either.
m463 5mo ago
maybe apple should have changed ipod to avoid confusing it with a pre-existing music device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_6_POD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_6_POD
- kennywinker 5mo ago
  Or Swift, to avoid confusion with the scripting language Swift - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_(parallel_scripting_language) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_(parallel_scripting_lang... Or iPad https://www.bbc.com/news/business-18669394 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-18669394 Etc. With Apple, being a corporation and not a moral actor, it comes down to “might makes right” when it comes to trademark and other IP laws.
- toast0 5mo ago
  They probably shouldn't have named iOs after the Cisco operating system and iPhone after the Cisco phone too.

vegadw 5mo ago

used. Apple used. It's legally a dead trademark, so Apple is claiming ownership of something they've already abandoned, but enforcing that nobody else can reclaim it, despite being a good name. That's not right, they don't just get to name squat.

armada651 5mo ago
What's legal doesn't matter, it's their store, if they want to claim they own the word Pear too they can do that. I think holding that kind of power over devices people own is problematic, but I seem to be in the minority here.
- jasonjayr 5mo ago
  Amusingly, a bunch of series of teen shows used to use "Pear PC" to get around the trademark issue on all their on screen technology...
- eikenberry 5mo ago
  +1 .. the problem isn't that Apple is denying their app, the problem is the developer decided to submit it to the Apple store.
  - jamesdeakee 5mo ago
    [flagged]
thaumasiotes 5mo ago
Fun fact: this same process is how Vietnam got its name. Their earlier proposal of Nam Viet had fallen out of use, but still couldn't get approval.

etothet 5mo ago

Perhaps you’re right. Apple's App Store review can be a rough process. Then again, a search of “Inkwell” in the App Store shows plenty of apps that are named “Inkwell”, many of then writing-related.

vessenes 5mo ago
Oh I didn't say they'd be consistent. But once it's raised, it's going to be really tough.
- Barbing 5mo ago
  Agreed. Vanishingly few enforcers have ever said "wait, we let other people do it? Ohhhh go ahead!" Much more extreme example, I read a court case where the cops were really annoyed the perp told them they should've been enforcing $muchWorseCrime elsewhere. Judge wasn't a fan either.

m463 5mo ago

maybe apple should have changed ipod to avoid confusing it with a pre-existing music device: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_6_POD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_6_POD

kennywinker 5mo ago
Or Swift, to avoid confusion with the scripting language Swift - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_(parallel_scripting_language) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_(parallel_scripting_lang... Or iPad https://www.bbc.com/news/business-18669394 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-18669394 Etc. With Apple, being a corporation and not a moral actor, it comes down to “might makes right” when it comes to trademark and other IP laws.
toast0 5mo ago
They probably shouldn't have named iOs after the Cisco operating system and iPhone after the Cisco phone too.