I think that other developer should wait for ngmoco and what they will do with their "We Doodle" then.
just got done saying yes to all of the was this review helpful things, on the reviews about lima sky being douchebages and stuff. i suggest you all do the same. i can't wait to see what lima sky has to say. the next time he makes a thread i'm gona flame on it
It is important for me to disagree with this. While I don't personally embrace the doodle style, I appreciate why it is there - it's essentially an acceptable evolution of "programmer art" - visuals which "anyone can make" and relate to, often created since very small devs don't have time or resources to create more complex or "traditional" style. I think it's done quite well on iPhone, particularly as so many tiny Do-it-Yourself devs have used this and similar styles ("cartoon," etc) when they've not necessarily had the means or desire to go more high-production with their output. yeah, we've seen an overflow of similarly-titled "Doodle" cash-in's, but I've always felt they were more descriptive of this style for a reason (concentrating on the gameplay rather than the presentation) with a small nod to something largely acceptable. And of course Doodle Jump had a role in making that style acceptable, perhaps popularized it a fair amount, but it's not their creation (nor does it entitle them to have some sort of dominion over the whole genre). They just got lucky as random devs do, and it's gone to their heads apparently. I am disappointed that other (slightly larger) devs and websites are keeping quiet on the matter (cheers to TA stepping up and mentioning it on the front page), this is something that deserves to have a fair amount of noise made about. __________________ twitter - HeadcaseGames.com Puzzling has Evolved - Get 180! FreeAppTracker.com Win ANY app you want, daily!
Also, I might suggest that folks shouldn't even bother trying to gum up DJs iTunes reviews. There's such a tiny percentage of people out there who care/could do anything about this, vs the countless thousands required to have any impact whatsoever on their rankings. Save your energy and use it elsewhere. __________________ twitter - HeadcaseGames.com Puzzling has Evolved - Get 180! FreeAppTracker.com Win ANY app you want, daily!
"It saddens me that so many of you are so quick to judge based on incomplete & incorrectly reported info and without hearing our side " Via @LimaSky on Twitter They also stated they'd be posting there side of the story soon..
I am all for hearing "the other side of the story" and I think most would take the time to listen. Meanwhile so far all that's been said is "no comment" when reported on (as no doubt lawyers have advised them to do, which is usually the case where legal issues are concerned at such a stage) but actions certainly speak louder than words. Granted it has only been barely a couple of days since this story broke, but as has been noted, Apple's already been hassling developers about pulling or renaming their games as a result of this. The ball has already been set rolling, Lima Sky - what did you expect would happen? Following the ugly and drawn-out Edge precedent that has been set, anyone with your visibility could pull a move like this with nothing in advance, and the same would result. "Luuuuuucy, you got a lot of 'splaining to do..." __________________ twitter - HeadcaseGames.com Puzzling has Evolved - Get 180! FreeAppTracker.com Win ANY app you want, daily!
LimaSky had the audacity to tweet "no one is going to lose their lively hood." An indie dev should realize the impact that they are having on other indie devs. But apparently, they do not. Yes, the key being "For Now"...
Well Lady Ga Ga and Jimmy Fallon like Doodle Jump. Don't you think thier opinion counts more than yours? Dam I hope she got permission. http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=50626
It's funny, how they try to reverse now on their twitter, playing the innocents, telling, how everybody judge them without knowing their side of the story. If they were so innocent, they would have made a press release on mayor sites to warn the devs that they will get such form mails, because Lima Sky has to send it out due to Patent Laws. If they were so innocent and their intentions so clear, they wouldn't try to TM a single word.
More bad news for app developers - I'm about to trademark the use of vowels in game names. I'm really keen to hear what Lima Sky's "side of the story" is to explain this seemingly ridiculous action.
0h sh1t! W3 w1ll h4v3 t0 t4lk in l33t. Someone needs to trademark "Sky" and set an autoreplace on Lima Sky's copyright infringement letter.
I have already sent a letter to Apple, that I have a game called Horror Jump in the store (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/horror-jump/id396353734?mt=8) and I am in the process of trademarking the english word "jump" in Hungary and I want them to take down Doodle Jump due to trademark infringement.
This thread & the information in it has spread like wildfire. I thought what I shared earlier was important not only for developers, but the community. In the previous few days there have been some extremely harsh comments towards Lima Sky. However infuriating this topic is, I'd like to ask that everyone remain respectful throughout the process. I believe this can be solved best by open, courteous dialog among the respective parties. Like I stated in my earlier post, this is a long story. I don't know every bit of Lima Sky's side of the story, nor would I claim to. I do know where I stand and the path I've taken to defend my lawful products. I previously wrote: In all fairness, I think it's important to highlight some more detail on a few matters. When I discussed the fact that Lima Sky applied for a trademark for "doodle" it was to share that the USPTO does not think that this is a trademarkable word. Back when this started for me, I posted a note on a private developer forum with a link to my then upcoming game Doodle Hockey. Igor contacted me through email and asked me to consider changing the name of that app because he thought it infringed on his trademark. I was in the middle of a vacation for my 10 year anniversary at the time and we set up a phone meeting a few days later. To make sure I fully understood the US Patent & Trademark Office's stand on these type of matters, I researched many trademark filings and oppositions. I contacted the USPTO and an IP lawyer to get further clarification. My lawyer (a different lawyer than I have now) told me that there was no legal basis for a potential "Doodle Jump" trademark applying to another game with "doodle" in the title - unless it was something like "Doodle Jumper." In trying to get verification of this from the USPTO, I was told that the only way to get an official word from the USPTO was to file a trademark and wait for their designated lawyers to review it. I searched around more and found multiple games with "doodle" in the title (including a game called "Doodle" from Miniclip.com released in 2007 - prior to the App Store). Just like my lawyer told me, there was no way anyone (except for possibly the very original "Doodle" game) could possibly get awarded the trademark for the word doodle. My lawyer told me the only way to have proof of that was to file for a trademark for the word doodle. To get that proof and the protection from potential opposition from Lima Sky, I did that. My intent was never to steal "doodle" from anyone else nor was it to actually finalize a registration of it - the only only intent was to get an official response from the Trademark Office. After a few month waiting period, the USPTO's lawyers reviewed the application for doodle & rejected it. That's exactly what I knew would happen. That trademark application serial number is 85027276. The office action (i.e. official answer) back from the USPTO said "If the mark in the referenced application registers, applicant’s mark may be refused registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d) because of a likelihood of confusion between the two marks." That's very similar to the answer the USPTO sent Lima Sky for their similar trademark application. I chose to share the USPTO office action results with Igor. I don't have the email I sent him handy, but my intent was to inform him of the legal interpretation that the USPTO's designated lawyers sent me. My hope was that this would highlight to Igor that trying to stop apps with "doodle" in their name wasn't something that would be backed up by the USPTO. My further hope was that Lima Sky would not pursue me - or any other developer - for the legal use of the word doodle in the title of their app. In many legal contexts, silence is often the correct action. I didn't get a response back from Lima Sky on that office action info I shared. I received an email from Igor yesterday on this matter. To respect his privacy, I won't share what he wrote, however I will share some of what I responded with because I think it applies to the many developers who read this forum. In short, I told Igor I didn't think he was in the right for his actions of pursuing apps with doodle in their title. I also asked him to stop. Here's an experpt from my email: This, of course, still isn't the entire story. It would take more time than I have to write everything down. Lima Sky will likely post their side of the story. Please take the time to understand their side of the story too. I hope this will get resolved in fairly short order so we can all get about making & playing great games. Thanks for your time,
I hate when companies flex their muscle to do bs moves like this one. Maybe you and the other targeted developers can start a class action against them and Apple if they support them.
My opinion is that it seems ill planning on thier part not to have had thier "side of the story" ready when they started this. What reaction did they expect? Many Doodle type games are popular on thier own merit And very few Doodle apps are popular. Given that we only have five days to respond it seems late in the game to clarify their intentions.
