Mryntu

I've just received an email from a Turkish app developer who believes my app infringes on his copyright. I've done some reading and read that essentially I'm not allowed to violate any patents or outright steal the work by copying it but otherwise should be fine if portions of the apps match.
To elaborate:

• I'm from Germany, the other developer is from Turkey




• The app is distributed using the Google Play store (US-based)




• Both apps provide the same core functionality




• There are about 30 apps providing the same core functionality




• The app of the other developer was published in 2015, mine in 2017.




• My app was created from the ground up and doesn't use any sources of other apps (I created the layout by myself as well)




• The other developer seems to hold at least some sort of copyright in Turkey: https://imgur.com/a/HWtyDh4 (blacked out)

I admit that both apps have a similar main UI (same color, same input elements) which however noticeably differ in design choices, user experience, and scope. But apart from that (the main view), the UI differs completely.

Is there any grounds for copyright infringement, if the apps look similar, but the actual sources aren't derived from any sort of original work?

There are multiple parts to copyright when it comes to an app. The first is the code and the second is the content in the app.

Copyright an app. You can claim copyright protection for the actual code of an app, but there is a lot more that copyright law protects. An app that serves as a virtual tour guide through museums, for example, may have a script that describes all of the artwork. That script may be copyrightable. For an app that provides dozens of pictures of houses representing various architectural styles, each picture may be copyrightable. In addition to the app itself, the individual parts of your app may be collectively or individually copyrightable, so be sure to consider the full value of your app. https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/four-steps-to-protect-your-app-and-yourself

You said you wrote all the code, so you probably aren't violating any copyrights code wise.

That leaves the content of the app as the only way you could be in violation. If your app uses any of the content from his app, you would be violating the copyright.

Copyright protects the way in which an idea is expressed. For example, it's possible for two dictionary apps to exist, because you can't copyright the concept of a dictionary. However, if one app uses definitions from the other or copy and pastes elements of its design, that app could have copyright infringement issues. While the best apps are ones that fill a gap, multiple apps can exist in the same niche if they don't borrow one another's content. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/copyright-stop-making-iphone-apps-76231.html

Obviously, in similar apps, some UI elements may be similar, but you can't outright copy any graphics, text, or otherwise copyrighted or trademarked content.

Disclaimer: I"m from the US and don't claim to know German or Turkish law. So let me discuss some general principles here, but details may well be different in Germany and Turkey.

You're mixing together three very different things: trademark, copyright, and patent.

Copyright protects the expression of an idea, in this case, the exact computer code, images, etc. If you didn't copy his code, the chance that you would coincidentally write identical code is remote. The fact that you both have a line of code that says "x=x+1" wouldn't give him any grounds for a lawsuit. He'd have to show substantial portions of the code were identical. If you didn't deliberately copy his code, this isn't going to happen. Barring some extraordinary and unbelievable coincidence, you can't violate copyright accidentally.

Trademark protects names and symbols used to identify a company or a product. If you decided to call your software company "Microsoft", then that other Microsoft could sue you for trademark infringement. Likewise if you copied somebody else's logo or other distinctive graphics. This is very different from copyright. It is quite possible to violate someone's trademark accidentally. Especially if he gave his company or product a rather generic name. Like if someone called his product, say, "Password Manager", someone else might make a product with the same name without ever having heard of the original. Ditto if he has some simple logo or other graphics. If you did accidentally duplicate a name or graphic elements, well, in the US a court would likely order you to change your name or graphics and that would be the end of it, unless you refused, in which case you'd end up in court. US Courts have ruled that very generic names have limited trademark protection. An example I saw recently was "Main Street Auto Repair". A court said that the owner of that name could prevent someone else from opening a shop in the same town with the same name, but he couldn't sue someone in another town who happened to use the same name. This is why, by the way, companies often use made-up words for their product names. In your case, this should be a trivial issue. If he is claiming trademark to the look of the main menu screen, just change the colors or move some buttons around. If it actually went to court, you should be able to argue that the similarity was accidental and when you were informed you promptly changed it, and that should be the end of it. Depending, I guess, on how hard-nosed the judge is, etc.

Patents are different still. A patent gives the owner the exclusive write to use an invention or process for a specified period of time. It doesn't matter if you invented the same thing entirely independently. Whoever filed the patent first has exclusive rights. There have been cases where an inventor lost out to someone with a similar invention because he submitted his patent application one day later. If this other person has patents that you are infringing, you are pretty much out of luck.