In-house application distribution-iPhone

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iphone

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+1 Q:

In-house application distribution-iPhone

Hi All,

I am in a big trouble , as i have developed an application using Enterprise license. But Now I have to sell it out to my customers ie my company customers.

1.Is it legal to sell them directly through our Enterprise website ? by providing them the "distribution profile + .app". 2. or is there any other way to distribute the application like making .ipa file and selling it out wihtout giving "distribution profile + .app". 3. or apple also takes some share of the money.

Is there any other way to so the same thing taking out the option of App Store.

Another query:

If I have Standard License and I wanted to keep the application on App Store, but only want to allow Enterprise specific customers to download the application ? is it possible?
Is there any kind of secured download on App Store.
Thnx Amit

+3 A:

IANAL, so do not take this as authoritative.

As I understand it you CANNOT sell it to them through your enterprise website. What you can do is have them buy an iPhone Enterprise license and manage their own distribution profiles then provide them a copy signed with their enterprise account. That is no different than hiring a contractor to write an internal app, except for who has the actual source.

Having said that, you really need to talk to a lawyer and have them go over the various contracts, this is not a programming issue.

Louis Gerbarg 2009-07-30 13:02:45

This is really not possible to ask the customers to buy Enterprise license first for buying my application. I think the other simple way is I will buy a Standard license and post my application to App Store, and then ask them to buy from there. But I dont understand why cant I sell them directly by giving them the .app+distribution profile as this is possible. But is it illegal to do this ?

Amit Jain 2009-07-31 07:54:01

You can't do it because it is a violation of section 2.2 of your iPhone SDK license agreement. The enterprise version has an exemption that allows you to bypass the store for distribution to other devices within a single organization (as determined by the presence of a Unique DUNS number). Also, this is not a legal issue, it is a civil contract issue. You won't go to jail if you break the rules, but you can (and will) have your SDK license and developer keys revoked. If you don't understand what I am saying you should contact a lawyer and have them look over your agreements.

Louis Gerbarg 2009-07-31 11:29:29

Then how should i distribute the application to users outside the enterprise? I think according to you guys its not possible using Enterprise license. So should I purchase Standard license and put the app on App Store? If yes then how shud i allow only predefined set of users who can download my application as I dont want all users to download my application from app store.

Amit Jain 2009-08-03 07:27:47

You can't. This is not a technical issue. You want to distribute in a way that Apple does not want to allow. There is nothing technological stopping you except that Apple will revoke your keys if they notice what you are doing. If you think my interpretation of the licenses is wrong then hire a lawyer who specializes in technology and contract law, send them copies of all your agreements, and see what they think. No one here can provide you with anything more than opinions on the matter.

Louis Gerbarg 2009-08-03 09:20:02

You can distribute your app on appStore for free, and only registered users can use it (on subscription via the entreprise website)

thierryb 2009-08-03 20:04:20

From http://developer.apple.com/support/iphone/enrollment/ "Can I distribute my application on the App Store if I enroll in the Enterprise Program?" "The Enterprise Program only allows for the development of in-house applications for use by your company’s employees. If you are interested in developing an application for the App Store, you will need to enroll in the Standard Program."

Louis Gerbarg 2009-08-04 00:53:04

Also, I'm 99.99% sure Apple wouldn't approve an app for the app store if it's locked down like that. They've rejected things for being "of limited appeal" before or only working with a proprietary hardware device etc etc.

Kenny Winker 2010-05-31 22:55:26

ansaurus

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