Topic analysis

Why is Inkwell stuck in review

I submitted Inkwell for iOS to Apple for review on April 21st. It has gone through numerous rejections, code changes, resubmissions, clarifications, one phone call, and one appeal to the review board, which I’m still waiting to hear back on. What’s the hold up? I’ve hinted at some of the issues, but I’ve tried hard to be patient with Apple, so I’ve mostly kept my mouth shut while waiting. I’m getting discouraged, though, so it’s time to lay out the problems here, organized by App Review Guideline section numbers: Inkwell is such a common word that there are a bunch of apps in the App Store with variations of this name. While I could rebrand my product, I’ve already shipped the Android app, which was approved by Google last month. I’ve learned from years of shipping apps that perfect uniqueness is almost impossible. As long as users are not confused, such as two very similar apps with identical names and trademarks in the same product category, it’s not usually a major problem. Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar introduced a handwriting-recognition feature based on technology from the Newton. On the Mac, they called it Inkwell and trademarked it in 2002. I vaguely remember this only because I was a Newton fan. The Apple employee I talked to on the phone had never heard of it. Apple’s Inkwell branding was short-lived, and the trademark is now listed as “dead” by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Yet the name still appears on Apple’s trademark page. This is what the reviewer found and objected to, even though other Inkwell apps have been approved without issue. I haven’t decided yet if this is a hill I’m willing to die on. But philosophically, I have a big problem with Apple using their control over iOS app distribution to reach beyond the law. The trademark has been unused for literal decades. Yet Apple has all the power.