Apple accused of ignoring complaints against copyright infringing apps

Apple has been accused of ignoring complaints against iOS apps that illegally use copyrighted material
. Brian Raub, founder of Lakelubbers.com, says Apple is unwilling to do anything about apps that are stealing and repackaging content from his website.
Raub’s website is made up of content from a team of three editors and 20 freelancers, and it is focused on lake vacation spots across America. All of the content is original, and Lakelubbers earns money through advertising. But it doesn’t receive any compensation when that content is stolen.

Raub discovered that a number of paid iOS apps were taking his content and selling it on, without even so much as crediting Lakelubbers for the work. Raub attempted to contact the apps’ developer, but they simply denied any wrongdoing, and refused to work things out.
When Raub initially took his complaint to Apple, the Cupertino company didn’t want to help, but he persisted and it eventually removed 11 offending apps from the App Store. Since then, another 20 apps — from the same developer — have appeared and are doing exactly the same thing.
Just as it did before, Apple is showing little interest in helping, Raub says. The latest crop of offending apps was first discovered in September, and they’re still available to download today. They’re not just using bits of Lakelubbers’ content; they’re taking entire articles and reproducing the whole thing.
The Roanoke Times reports that it has contacted Apple, which says it is now investigating Raub’s claims. It’s unclear whether the offending apps have been removed yet.
[via 9to5Mac]

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