I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. I have some experience and have done some reading in this regard, however. Laws differ in each country, and if they were to sue you for trademark infringement, they would have to do so in each country they wish for you to stop selling your app or to pursue damages.
In the U.S., copyright law protects the original author/artist from others copying the work or making a derivative work without permission. The definition of a derivative work is not clear to me. With software, they would have to show that you use some of their software (source code or object code) without permission, e.g. by reverse engineering, linking some of their libraries (such libraries not expressly permitting doing so), or out right theft of their code. With graphics, I don't know how they prove it. It's very subjective, and the commonality of pre-existing material (e.g. an "H" used for a helo-pad) may work in your favor. I would file for a copyright with the U.S. copyright office. I think you simply have to send them a copy of your work and fill out a registration form. If you have earlier records of when your work was first available, I would hang on to those as well. If you have a similar organization in your country, then you should do the same there. If you can do so in any country your app is selling, then do that as well. Unfortunately, they may decide to push ahead with lawsuits. You should most definitely consult with lawyers. The initial consult may be free. Depending on the laws, if you win, you may be able to sue for court costs and legal fees. Best of luck! Patrick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE ME" as the subject.
