I submitted Inkwell for iOS to Apple for review on April 21st. It has gone through numerous rejections, code changes, resubmissions, clarifications, one phone call, and one appeal to the review board, which I’m still waiting to hear back on.

What’s the hold up? I’ve hinted at some of the issues, but I’ve tried hard to be patient with Apple, so I’ve mostly kept my mouth shut while waiting. I’m getting discouraged, though, so it’s time to lay out the problems here, organized by App Review Guideline section numbers:

• 1.2 — The app didn’t have a way to report objectionable content or block users. This rejection was bizarre to me since it’s an RSS reader where people choose to follow users. However, there are places where you can see replies from Micro.blog users, so I added report and block menu items. Apple also wanted more explicit terms of service and privacy policy links, so I cluttered up our welcome screen with more buttons.
• 2.1(a) — The Sign in with Apple button didn’t work for Apple. I fixed one potential issue and now hide the button when signing in from Inkwell and from other apps like Unread that can sync with Inkwell.
• 2.1(b) — A list of questions from Apple about how we make money. I replied to all their questions.
• 3.1 — The app doesn’t use in-app purchase so that Apple can take a percentage of Micro.blog revenue. I streamlined the app by removing creation features such as posting and highlighting, removed sign-up and external links, and even removed the app from all storefronts except the US, where there are different rules thanks to Epic vs. Apple. I believe it should now qualify under either 3.1.3(a) “reader apps” or 3.1.3(f) “stand-alone companion apps”.
• 4 — A large bucket of “design” problems, the reviewer rejected it because Sign in with Apple was enabled but still prompted for a user’s name. I’ve fixed some issues and disabled Sign in with Apple in the app.
• 5.1.1(v) — The app didn’t have a way to delete a Micro.blog account. Inkwell is a companion app to Micro.blog, so almost everyone is going to have an existing Micro.blog account that they can delete from the web. I added a delete button to Inkwell’s settings screen too.
• 5.2.5 — Inkwell is listed on Apple’s own trademark page. This has been the most trouble and keeps coming back up after I resolve the other issues. I tried renaming the app to deemphasize the word Inkwell. No luck. This is the one that I’ve appealed to the app review board.

Inkwell is such a common word that there are a bunch of apps in the App Store with variations of this name. While I could rebrand my product, I’ve already shipped the Android app, which was approved by Google last month. I’ve learned from years of shipping apps that perfect uniqueness is almost impossible. As long as users are not confused, such as two very similar apps with identical names and trademarks in the same product category, it’s not usually a major problem.

Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar introduced a handwriting-recognition feature based on technology from the Newton. On the Mac, they called it Inkwell and trademarked it in 2002. I vaguely remember this only because I was a Newton fan. The Apple employee I talked to on the phone had never heard of it. Apple’s Inkwell branding was short-lived, and the trademark is now listed as “dead” by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Yet the name still appears on Apple’s trademark page. This is what the reviewer found and objected to, even though other Inkwell apps have been approved without issue.

I haven’t decided yet if this is a hill I’m willing to die on. But philosophically, I have a big problem with Apple using their control over iOS app distribution to reach beyond the law. The trademark has been unused for literal decades. Yet Apple has all the power.