iOS Requesting Advice: Will this application get rejected?

[Soulstorm]

A surgeon asked me to make an application for him. The application will be a guide for some kinds of surgery.

He also has a very big library of content that he wants to include with the application. The problem is that some of this content may be found offensive. Specifically:

1) There are some photos of breasts (only breasts, no other part of the human body, and no faces) before and after the surgery.
2) There are some drawn 3D images of breasts
3) There are some videos that are live cams during a surgery procedure.

So, my question is: Will this app get rejected? All photos and material is presented in a very professional way and no picture could be considered pornographic material even to people who don't know exactly at what application they are looking at.

I know Apple's policy for offensive material, but will Apple reject an application that is solely intended to be a surgery reference and not a pornographic application? I would appreciate any information on the subject, as well as any information about applications on the App Store that contain material that would allow me to understand Apple's policy for mature content.

 

[robbieduncan]

I would have thought that as long as you label it for age appropriately it would be OK...

 

[sushi]

I would have thought that as long as you label it for age appropriately it would be OK...

Agree since it is a medical related app and presented in a professional manner.

I would put a splash page when the user starts the app for the first time where it explains this is a medical app and the understand that it contains graphic medical information or something like that.

Also, why not contact Apple directly and get their advice before hand?

 

[26.2]

Agree since it is a medical related app and presented in a professional manner.

I would put a splash page when the user starts the app for the first time where it explains this is a medical app and the understand that it contains graphic medical information or something like that.

Also, why not contact Apple directly and get their advice before hand?

Exactly---go to the people that make the decisions.

 

[PhoneyDeveloper]

Also, why not contact Apple directly and get their advice before hand?

Since when does Apple do that? I'm not aware of any pre-approval process for apps or app ideas.

OP, I think the issue is mainly setting the correct age-related flags on the iTunes portal when you upload the app.

 

[TodVader]

If he just wants the app for himself, couldn't you sell him a AdHoc version?

 

[sushi]

Since when does Apple do that? I'm not aware of any pre-approval process for apps or app ideas.

I'm not talking about pre-approval.

What I meant, is to contact Apple and present the type of material that you want to use and ask them how it would need to be presented so that it would get through the approval process.

 

[Soulstorm]

If he just wants the app for himself, couldn't you sell him a AdHoc version?

The client doesn't want the application for himself. He has a lot of publications in magazines and a site with many information around his profession, and he wants to make a database of all that, but with his name on the application.

That way, he can have his encyclopedia-like application, that will also bring him more clients. Although the application will not be about what he does specifically, it will be around his profession in general, and since he is the leader of the project, he will be mentioned, and videos presented and made by him that concern various matters around the medical science (interviews etc for which he has the copyright) will also be present.

I think that even if I contact Apple in advance they will reply that they will need to see the whole thing finished. Pictures of breasts can easily be offensive inside a porn application, but can also be acceptable when presented inside a gallery with paintings. It's the presentation and the actual purpose of the application that makes a difference in these cases.

I will define the rating of the application to be 18+ when finished. I will submit it to Apple, and the rest is up to them.

 

[North Bronson]

Are the images of the breasts so important that the application would be ruined without them? For instance, is your client a cosmetic surgeon who focuses only on breast surgery?

Prepare to be rejected. If the application is approved, it will make a pleasant surprise. You should be prepared to go ahead with a version with no breasts. If you two are not prepared to make a version with no breasts, you might want to question if this application is really worth your time to write.

Also, I think Apple defined 18+ to be pornographic, and will tell you upfront not to sell on iTunes. I thought 17+ was the most you could do.

 

[mcrain]

A surgeon asked me to make an application for him. The application will be a guide for some kinds of surgery.

He also has a very big library of content that he wants to include with the application. The problem is that some of this content may be found offensive. Specifically:

1) There are some photos of breasts (only breasts, no other part of the human body, and no faces) before and after the surgery.
2) There are some drawn 3D images of breasts
3) There are some videos that are live cams during a surgery procedure.

So, my question is: Will this app get rejected? All photos and material is presented in a very professional way and no picture could be considered pornographic material even to people who don't know exactly at what application they are looking at.

I know Apple's policy for offensive material, but will Apple reject an application that is solely intended to be a surgery reference and not a pornographic application? I would appreciate any information on the subject, as well as any information about applications on the App Store that contain material that would allow me to understand Apple's policy for mature content.

Thanks for the idea, I just forwarded what you posted to 6 physician friends of mine and 12 computer programers for development. We should have a sumbmission for trademark and copyright later today with a complete app for apple approval later this week.

Thanks again.

Seriously, you post this on this site? You are giving up your client's intellectual property.

motto amongst attorneys... you pay us now, or you pay us more later. You should have gone to an attorney first, now you're going to have to go to defend yourself for disclosing intellectual property on a public site.

You're talking about international law and patent/copyright infringement over borders! I hope you've been saving up for the suit your doctor friend SHOULD bring against you.

 

[North Bronson]

Thanks for the idea, I just forwarded what you posted to 6 physician friends of mine and 12 computer programers for development. We should have a sumbmission for trademark and copyright later today with a complete app for apple approval later this week.

Thanks again.

Seriously, you post this on this site? You are giving up your client's intellectual property.

motto amongst attorneys... you pay us now, or you pay us more later. You should have gone to an attorney first, now you're going to have to go to defend yourself for disclosing intellectual property on a public site.

You're talking about international law and patent/copyright infringement over borders! I hope you've been saving up for the suit your doctor friend SHOULD bring against you.

Is your implication that the OP won't be able to go ahead with the application because you "have a submission for trademark and copyright"?

 

[mcrain]

Is your implication that the OP won't be able to go ahead with the application because you "have a submission for trademark and copyright"?

Ask his lawyer.

(edit) I'm not an expert in copyright or trademark, but my guess is that if you ask Apple or Nokia, or any of the other companies that have had to fight these battles in the past, they will all say one thing...

IT IS EXPENSIVE

 

[North Bronson]

I'm no attorney either, but it sounds like you're implying a patent dispute (which Apple and Nokia are having). If the OP's application was patentable, and you did patent the application, the OP would be in trouble if they then made the same application.

If you're just talking about trademark (the title) and copyright (the source code) then there is nothing stopping you two from developing two independent applications that do exactly the same thing.

 

[mcrain]

I apologize for the tone I took before. I was far too harsh. I tried to make a point, and was insulting and should not have been.

I am not implying this is a trademark, copyright or patent issue. What I am saying is that the idea is owned by the person who came up with it, and until it is protected by a trademark, copyright or patent, disclosing it may cause the idea to be lost or the person who disclosed it to get sued.

Even if the suit is groundless, it's expensive.

I once represented a guy who had a great idea. He spent a ton of money trying to get it into market, and went to company after company trying to sell his idea. Finally, he decided to do it himself, only to discover that one of the companies he went to had patented his idea. They modified it, just enough, but it was his idea. No, he didn't have an attorney, and he didn't have them sign anything to protect his idea.

Anyway, after seeing what happened to him, I thought you might want to be careful in what you disclose publicly.

Again, I'm sorry for being too harsh last week.

 

[Soulstorm]

I apologize for the tone I took before. I was far too harsh. I tried to make a point, and was insulting and should not have been.

I am not implying this is a trademark, copyright or patent issue. What I am saying is that the idea is owned by the person who came up with it, and until it is protected by a trademark, copyright or patent, disclosing it may cause the idea to be lost or the person who disclosed it to get sued.

Even if the suit is groundless, it's expensive.

I once represented a guy who had a great idea. He spent a ton of money trying to get it into market, and went to company after company trying to sell his idea. Finally, he decided to do it himself, only to discover that one of the companies he went to had patented his idea. They modified it, just enough, but it was his idea. No, he didn't have an attorney, and he didn't have them sign anything to protect his idea.

Anyway, after seeing what happened to him, I thought you might want to be careful in what you disclose publicly.

Again, I'm sorry for being too harsh last week.

Yes, you were harsh, because you didn't know about the project, and you jumped to conclusions.

I didn't want to say exactly what I was up to in THIS forum. That does not mean that this idea is something original. There are hundreds of applications like this on App Store. With no breasts of course . And I didn't disclose any information regarding the REST of the application (did you really think it was so simple? ).

My "employer" didn't have an original idea and that's why we don't care about disclosing any information, and I haven't signed up any NDA documents or something like that.

So, to sum up:
1) There is no original idea involved.
2) There are hundreds of apps like this in the App store.
3) The idea, even if it was original, can't be patented.

I am in the programming business for some years, and believe me, NDAs, confidentiality and original ideas are some things I know too well. And speaking of confidentiality, I would like to say that the post you made made me feel I lack of knowledge about agreements, and I lack discretion. I know what I am, but other potential clients in this forum don't. And I don't feel well (or safe) with you implying that I disclose publicly information that I shouldn't.

Thank you for the warning, but a lot of hassle could be avoided if you made a search in the App Store about similar applications.