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I’m almost ready to offer an IPhone application on the Apple App. Store and make my millions. ;)
For those of you that have gone before, have you formed a business (LLC or proprietorship) to keep things legal?
In the end, it really depends on your plans for your app development. If you're intending to make this a "real" business you'd absolutely want to incorporate for the legal protection and tax advantages. If this is just a hobby/something you're doing in your spare time then I wouldn't bother.
We've used LegalZoom a couple of times to incorporate; plan to spend <= $2K or so to get it done from soup-to-nuts.
I would say that depends largely on the nature of your application. If your app deals with personal information or in some way could damage other data or information on the phone itself, you might want to make sure you're covered liability wise.
If it's a game or something that won't (shouldn't) affect that type of thing, then you might be just fine going it alone.
I used my name. At the time I signed up, I was hearing horror stories about how long it was taking companies to be approved, while approval for individuals was flying through. Perhaps that's changed.
Don't assume that incorporating will protect you from liability. See here
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I haven't post my app to the app market yet, so i am just wondering if a user buys our app, would it be possible to charge him for every upgrade or every upgrade has to be free.
I ask this question because our company has to make the decision whether we keep adding more features to the app or we make different apps to do different things and charge our clients accordingly.
Thanks for reading.
No, you cannot (currently) charge for updates.
You might consider unlocking additional functionality using in-app purchase.
It depends on what you mean by 'update.'. In the case of maybe a database, dictionary-type, or even a game (possibly, though unlikely), app updating some kind of database (SQLite, XML, etc.) is allowed, but downloading code is a no-no as stated in the developer guidelines. If you must charge, the downloading of a database is the only possible way, otherwise in-apps will fill the gap.
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Finally got my first iPhone app ready for launch.
There's a large publisher backing the IP.
There's a third party between me (developer) and the publisher.
Everybody wants a cut.
What are some ways of going about this? There's probably enough of you who have expierences, do's, don't and tips?
I was thinking of just putting it all on my account and have them invoice me for the various amounts every 3 months.
If they agree to it then you idea is the best because it keeps you in control of the process, although you might have to consider tax issues. For example, depending on where you live you might get charged tax on 100% of the revenue rather than just your cut.
No matter what you do though, make sure you have a legal agreement between you and all of the parties involved regarding the the revenue split. This way everyone is on the same page and you can be reasonably assured that someone won't change their mind once the money rolls in.
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After submiting a new application, will it be instantly available for purchasing, or does it take some dealy?
Thanks.
The answer I give to clients and is generally the case for apps we have submitted from the UK (over 75 apps and hundreds of updates) is "between 1 and 4 weeks".
This is usually the scenario but there is a lot left up to chance.
You can also apply for extenuating circumstances (say for instance if your app needs to be released for a specific event ie. the World Cup) when I have seen apps get reviewed in a matter of days. You will not always be successful in receiving this benefit.
It won't be instantly available, since Apple has to look at your app first. They will check your app and accept it or reject it accordingly. It depends of course, on how long it takes until your app is reviewed. It has to be done by humans so I believe the time it'll take differs per app.
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I've created an app, that is self-explanatory. What is the etiquette in the iPhone world: do I still need to have an About button that explains what the app does, website, email, all that? Or is that unnecessary?
I wouldn't consider it necessary, but then again I would get a second opinion about your app being self-explanatory; you wrote it after all :) Seriously, I've found a lot of "obvious" UI and behavior I've written over the years to be not so, and it's helped to have opinions from others (especially those who don't use computers for day-to-day work) to bring more clarity.
But from an etiquette standpoint, I'd say no: in fact if your app truly is self-explanatory it'll just get in the way of what your app does, which is what consumers are after.
I think that you almost always need one, especially in a paid application. You want it to be as easy as possible for your users to get in contact with you for support (no need to make an upset user angrier by making them search for your contact info), because happy users leave good reviews, and support requests often help you to figure out what needs work in your app. Additionally, if you release a free app but you also have some paid apps for sale, I think the free apps need an about screen that will send your users to your page on the App Store; after all, you might as well get some free, non-invasive promotion when giving away something.
The only time you probably don't want to include an about screen is when you don't want to hear from users. If you're giving away a free app, and you don't want to deal with people having problems with it, then don't even bother with an about box. Or if you're Apple, since about boxes in their apps would be redundant.
I don't entirely agree with zoul here. I think that every app should include information about how to contact the developer and/or get support if it's needed. Yes, you can put this information in the App Store listing, but that makes it more difficult for your customer. I'd say yes, add the About view.
The etiquette in the iPhone world is to design sane applications. If your application does not need an About screen, don’t do it. Those who want support can always check out your application description in the App Store.
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I've been working on a small iPhone app that displays web content using the devices GPS context. I am hoping to list this application in the AppStore for free.
If I list the application under my name, does this create any considerable liability considerations?
Thanks in advance,
Ben
This is one of those questions that really belongs on a forum for IP lawyers. I'm not a lawyer, so this is somewhat speculative and should not be taken as legal advice.
A good rule of thumb is that anything you put in the public domain can open you up to legal liability. Whether you put your name on an application or not is irrelevant to whether or not you can be sued.
The open source people often include some boilerplate that amounts to "No express or implied warranty on this application, not even a promise that it will work and not brick your phone." How effective this boilerplate is would need a lawyer's perspective.
You appear to be in the USA, so the answer is "of course it does". And listing it in some other way also does. Anything you do, anywhere, at any time, that affects anyone in any way might well be taken as grounds for a lawsuit. If you want specific legal advice you should be talking to a lawyer.
IANAL, either. But if you give something away for free, something earnestly intended to help its users - and if you explain what it is, and whatever risks you're aware of - I don't think you have much to worry about. Certainly, you shouldn't. I say, do your best to make it good, safe, and all that, and set it free.