[calicocat2010]

BlackBerry App World said to hawk pirated Android apps - CNET Mobile

BlackBerry App World said to hawk pirated Android apps
by Dara Kerr January 8, 2013

Sure, pirated apps can be found across the Web on sites like appbucket.net and snappzmarket.com, but you wouldn't expect to find them in legitimate app stores, such as BlackBerry App World. But, indeed, this is reportedly the case.

And, to make matters worse, the purportedly stolen apps found in the store and packaged as BlackBerry PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 apps are actually Android apps, according to a developer who posted his woes on Reddit today.



I recently had two users email me about certain compatibility problems. They did mention that they were using Playbooks, but I figured they were running some kind of Android ROM on their devices. I asked one of them for his Google account, and he informed me that he only had a BB ID, not a Google account, and that he had downloaded the app from BB App World.
Sure enough, someone had downloaded my app from Google Play, converted the APK and published it for BB using his account, along with half a dozen other Android apps that were obviously not his own. Most of them have since been taken down, but his account remains active, and he still has three apps published that look like they might be from Google Play.

According to this developer, converting Android apps for BlackBerry smartphones is fairly simple. This makes sense considering that the new BlackBerry OS is supposed to support Android apps. Apparently, there's an online tool that easily repackages Android apps for BlackBerry. The only problem is that a pirate can then just sell the app as their own.

BlackBerry parent company Research In Motion released the final version of its BlackBerry 10 OS software for developers to start writing apps in December. The release included the final tool set and APIs for software-makers to start coding for the upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphone, which is scheduled to be released on January 30.

A RIM spokesperson told CNET that the company will not tolerate app pirates or copycats and will investigate all copyright claims and seek solutions to the problem.

"RIM respects intellectual property. We expect others to do the same," the company spokesperson told CNET. "If a developer believes that their copyright or trademark rights are being infringed by third-party content on the BlackBerry App World storefront, the developer can submit a complaint to our IP team and the issue will be reviewed. In the case of copyright or trademark violations, the offending content will be removed immediately."

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I hope this does get sorted out by Launch. Would be a shame to lose a bunch of apps that were going towards their goal.

[greatwiseone]

RIM isn't the only App Store that has problems. You should see the Android Market. That's the reason why there's an infringement complaint form on RIM's website.

[TheStoof]

It sucks that this happened to you, and I hate that the problem exists. I do, however, hope this stays beneath the radar until after launch, but with RIM quietly squashing these thieves.

The question is how can they thwart the APK stealing? Do APKs have XMLs w/ an email addy? Use that e-mail to confirm?


Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[applyglove]

You have many people stealing things and then selling them on Ebay. You dont condemn Ebay for it.

[neteng1000]

Lets start pointing our finger at banks when they get robbed. Should we blame the bank for not preventing the robbery or shoud we blame the bank robbers?

[qbnkelt]

Well this is inconvenient timing.....don't need this kind of attention....

[Sith_Apprentice]

Well this is inconvenient timing.....don't need this kind of attention....

Better now than 2 weeks from now. RIM put out a statement and they will quash this prior to launch. Should all blow over by then. on the plus side, it gets more android devs checking app world for their apps hah.

[silversun10]

on the other hand it highlights there is nothing to converting your android app, so get on with it

[Sith_Apprentice]

on the other hand it highlights there is nothing to converting your android app, so get on with it

Are you in politics? that is some great spin there hah

[MADBRADNYC]

Hmmm. This article is quite interesting.
However, I�m not sure why there are these defensive comments in favor of RIM here though.
I see nothing negative about RIM in this article at all.
In fact, it appears to be quite flattering to RIM as a no nonsense company where theft is not tolerated.

The developer appears to recognize that someone stole his intellectual property for re-sale and reported it when found. RIM�s position is clearly stated and theft will not be tolerated. RIM is not in the mood to deal with additional patent violation issues and appears to respect anyone�s right to their own intellectual property. The applications have been removed. The developer indicated that this thief has additional applications in AppWorld, but only has a belief that they may be stolen ports with no proof or interest because that is not his issue to deal with.

I see the problem as this�

The question is how can they thwart the APK stealing?

They can�t. Not as things stand currently. It also seems that these issues have to be reported to even come up on the radar and be dealt with. My only hope is that as the OP stated, I just hope that we do not find that 25% or more ports are stolen or something. LOL! That would really bring the app development count down pretty drastically. RIM would do their due diligence in taking them down, which is only the correct thing to do, as well as banning repeated offenders. Developers may claim ignorance the first time, but cannot be excused for repeated actions.

[qbnkelt]

Better now than 2 weeks from now. RIM put out a statement and they will quash this prior to launch. Should all blow over by then. on the plus side, it gets more android devs checking app world for their apps hah.

OK, I see what you're thinking.
OK.....I get you.....

[Villain]

I see this as somewhat positive and awesome news. Really shows just how easy it is to get apps on bb10.

[MADBRADNYC]

I see this as somewhat positive and awesome news. Really shows just how easy it is to get apps on bb10.

+1. Yeah! It also makes me wonder why this developer did not choose to take advantage of this himself?
I see no mention of him saying he would make his applications available for the platform himself.
Either before this incident or after having it rectified.
Why??? He can only benefit...

[TheStoof]

APKs that aren't 3.0+ will work spot on, too .

I find developing for Java/Android 2.3.x super easy. I've created two apps myself, with one being on Playbook. One has already been converted to Blackberry 10 by Blackberry themselves!

Someone needs to develop a GUI set for Android to make it look similar to BB10. Android is fuuuugly.

[mrfreetruth]

This will open more dev's eyes as to how simple and easy it is to port an android app to BB10.

[gravymonster]

I read this article on another news site and a lot of the comments were "there are android apps on BlackBerry?" so if anything the news had a positive result.

[TheStoof]

If anyone here has Dev Alpha B, can you test out "Train Your Spanish"? I can't get it to download on the emulator.

[RubberChicken76]

Hmm ... a few places seem to be trying to spin this as a cheap shot RIM is turning a blind eye to in order to build their numbers. Really, though, not sure what RIM can do beyond what they do now:

- They make vendors provide ID to prove who they are
- They make them sign a big giant terms and conditions document verifying they have the right to post
- They put the app through a testing review process
- If the vendor is in violation and it's reported, RIM has the right to pull it off and/or suspend their App World account

Unfortunately, there are always going to be dishonest people out there. See Ebay.

[RECOOL]

No press is bad press they say. devs will think wow bb users like my app let me check out this app world and this bb10 talk. They then see cascades awesomeness and ease of application creation. They will see that this market is young think $$$$$$ I can be a top application here its not flooded we get another development supporting.

RIM are serious chess players that cyborg player was always divide and conquer attack. Add the app incentives for bb10 this just all playing the way RIM wanted.

[howarmat]

I read this the other day and had mixed opinions on it. For most of us we know how easy it is for someone to convert the apk to bar and load it. Most people dont though so it does help spread the news and some devs will see this and maybe port their apps over. But it does expose just how easy it is for someone to steal others work. I cant say its an easy thing to prevent and hopefully RIM tightens up the vetting process for all the apps that submitted.

[FreeJACLive]

RIM / Devs have to monitor their store for stolen wares no differently than Google has to watch YouTube for copyrighted material making its way onto their site. This is nothing new on the Internet.

[OniBerry]

RIM / Devs have to monitor their store for stolen wares no differently than Google has to watch YouTube for copyrighted material making its way onto their site. This is nothing new on the Internet.

True, oldest story on the net, but it's always good to revisit the app piracy topic every now and then to bring it back up to the forefront for another round of discussions/exposure. We all know it's not limited to just one platform. The general public should be aware, especially if they purchase apps.

[sexybabe88]

if you happen to buy a pirated app that is eventually pulled, do you get a refund?

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[bal00]

Hmm ... a few places seem to be trying to spin this as a cheap shot RIM is turning a blind eye to in order to build their numbers. Really, though, not sure what RIM can do beyond what they do now:

- They make vendors provide ID to prove who they are
- They make them sign a big giant terms and conditions document verifying they have the right to post
- They put the app through a testing review process
- If the vendor is in violation and it's reported, RIM has the right to pull it off and/or suspend their App World account

Unfortunately, there are always going to be dishonest people out there. See Ebay.

Hi. I'm the developer who posted this to reddit. I don't have an agenda here, I was just trying to warn other developers, because it was only through a stroke of luck (and the bootlegger being too lazy to remove my email address) that I learned about my app being on App World. A lot of developers don't have a reason to monitor app stores for platforms they don't work with.

I reckon there are a few things that RIM could do:

-Improve the complaint process for painfully obvious violations. Maybe add a report button or a complaint form. Right now reporting a violation involves printing, signing and scanning or faxing paper documents. Someone investigating complaints would be able to spot most pirated apps in under 1 minute, if there was a way to make RIM aware of them. If someone has 10 different apps in his portfolio and those 10 apps are published by 10 different developers on Google Play, you're probably looking at a bootlegger.
Right now I'm forced to take 20 minutes out of my day to take care of a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place, and I might be doing the same thing a couple of days later if the pirated app appears under a different name or account.

-Try to confirm the submission of a converted Android app with the original developer, or at least send a notification via email. This would be pretty easy to do because all APKs contain a package name, and that package name allows you to find the app on Google Play. So if someone were to submit an APK with the package name "com.adobe.reader", you would go to https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...m.adobe.reader and send an email to the address listed there. This process could be 100% automated. It's not bulletproof because the package name could possibly be changed, but that's not a trivial thing to do.

-Don't allow developers to submit Android APKs. This encourages piracy because it enables people to submit apps without having access to the source code, and frankly, it will only get you junk apps anyway. Any moderately sophisticated app will require certain changes, and if it's just to replace links/references to Google/Android. The conversion tool is only useful for developers who can't be bothered to edit even one line of code to make a BB version, and that's not how you get high quality BlackBerry apps. If the APK submission feature is only going to be used for quick and dirty conversion jobs and piracy, why have it?

+1. Yeah! It also makes me wonder why this developer did not choose to take advantage of this himself?
I see no mention of him saying he would make his applications available for the platform himself.
Either before this incident or after having it rectified.
Why??? He can only benefit...

A proper port requires a lot more work than just converting an APK. A button that takes you to Google Play, or help files that refer to your Android device wouldn't be very useful, and I would want to test on real hardware (that I would need to buy). So I need to decide whether I'm going to add features to the Android version that users are requesting, and that would definitely yield higher sales, or not add the new features and make a BB version instead. For now I'm going to focus on keeping the Android version up to date, because it's already paying the bills.

RIM / Devs have to monitor their store for stolen wares no differently than Google has to watch YouTube for copyrighted material making its way onto their site. This is nothing new on the Internet.

You're right, it's quite similar to the YouTube situation. However, the origin of APKs is a lot easier to trace (because they more or less contain a link to the Google Play version) than the origin of video files, and for YouTube users there's no profit motive (unless they're partners). Imagine how YouTube would look if people were able to make a quick $100 with pirated videos. That's a not inconsiderable amount of money in some parts of the world.

[Dapper37]

The irony of it all!