Apple Settles 'FlickType' Developer Lawsuit Over App Store Treatment - MacRumors
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Apple Settles 'FlickType' Developer Lawsuit Over App Store Treatment

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Prominent developer Kosta Eleftheriou has settled his 2021 lawsuit against Apple over its App Store review actions that he said hindered his ability to distribute apps on the platform while allowing copycat competitors to flourish, reports TechCrunch.

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In his lawsuit, Eleftheriou complained that Apple repeatedly threw up "roadblock after roadblock" against his FlickType keyboard app for the Apple Watch, only to then allow copycat apps from other developers onto the store. Eleftheriou said that he had been in discussions with Apple about the company acquiring FlickType, and he believes Apple was intentionally targeting his app in the review process to try to force him to sell it at a discount.

Following the filing of the case last year, the two parties participated in court calls with a judge, the court docket shows, including as recently as this spring. A request for dismissal of the lawsuit was subsequently filed on July 21, 2022, after Apple and Kpaw (Eleftheriou’s business) came to an agreement.

Eleftheriou was unable to comment on the terms of the settlement. Apple was not immediately able to comment on the dismissal either.

Eleftheriou has been one of the higher-profile critics of Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies, repeatedly pointing out App Store scams that have slipped through the review process and even into the store's charts of top-performing apps without Apple taking action.

Apple has taken some steps to improve the ability for users to flag problematic apps, such as by bringing back the "Report a Problem" button on ‌App Store‌ listings, but Eleftheriou says he continues to find scam and copycat apps with only minimal effort.

Tag: Apple Lawsuits

Top Rated Comments

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antnythr
47 months ago
Guy deserves to get PAID for this nonsense with Apple
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spaceboi Scaphandre Avatar
Spaceboi Scaphandre
47 months ago
Good on him. It's absolutely stupid what happened to FlickType, being denied store approval only for them to get Sherlocked in the Apple Watch Series 7 to the tiniest detail.

God I cannot wait for the Digital Markets Act to go live.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
CarAnalogy
47 months ago
I'm disappointed that this ended in a settlement which presumably includes terms that he(?) stop publicly criticizing Apple. I had hoped he was being a bit more altruistic but it seems the money eventually worked.

And I don't say that cynically. The App store has real problems that this person seems to have taken on as a crusade to point out, and opinions were already mixed as to motives. I want to see real improvement to the App Store Apple has been so publicly proud of in court lately, and it's sad to see another voice presumably silenced.

Edit: update 10 months later. This story is the last anyone has heard from this guy publicly about app store problems so it seems I was correct.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
CarAnalogy
47 months ago

This clown Kosta Eleftheriou proves that someone can make a bad product and other companies come along and does it infinitely better but if the untalented Kosta Eleftheriou whines enough someone will give him money to shut up.
The allegations are very believable based on decades of documented history of Apple's ruthless business tactics. And whatever the reason (I've never even heard of these apps beyond the news stories) the more visible contribution has been many blog posts since pointing out glaring violations of App Store policy, which in my eyes has been a useful public service.

Please provide references for why this person has been a clown.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
Apple Knowledge Navigator
47 months ago
That’s the problem when you have billions in cash, you can just dump money on a desk and the problem magically resolves itself.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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Eldaerenth Faexidor
47 months ago
Wether you like him or not, it takes a lot of guts to drag a powerful company like Apple into the courtroom. Seems like he kinda won in a way. Probably got lots of dough. And Apple remains Apple.. unscathed.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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