App Store Drama – Part 1 Beer-gate
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One sure sign that the iPhone app world is rapidly maturing is the degree of drama already unfolding in some corners of the App Store universe.
Case in point number one… Beer-gate.
Apparently Hottrix, the developers behind iBeer (a silly simulated beer app) is suing the Coors beer company for 12.5 million. The basis for the lawsuit…
copyright infringement. Yup, Hottrix developed iBeer and it was such an amazing fantastic idea that Coors is alleged to have copied them and created iPint. (both simulate beer being poured out when a user tilts the handset.)
It should be noted that while iBeer is $3, iPint was offered as a free download (pretty inexpensive advert for Coors, huh??) According to the suit, iBeer was successful until Coor’s released their freebie. Although both were released on July 11th, iBeer had been available as a jailbreak app long before that.
It sure looks like Coors grabbed Hottrix’s idea and ran with it as a nice advertising approach but, then again, maybe, just maybe, the decline in interest in iBeer has as much or more to do with the fact that these stupid gag apps are interesting oddities for a few minutes and then interest quickly wanes for most normal people.
You have to give it to Hottrix, though, that is ONE way to make a killing on iPhone apps.
It should be noted that while Apple avoided being named in at least one lawsuit this year, they did pull iPint from the App Store. Yup, no more watery, weak, poor-tasting America fake beer for you. Now you have to go for the rich, full imaginary flavor of the European iBeer.
You can get iBeer HERE in the App Store for $2.99. (Then again, you could always use an app like AroundMe to find a bar and use your $3 for some REAL beer!)
