Rejected on Google Play! ? Details on the reason and progress of response!

Hello.
I'm Nomushin, in charge of smartphones on the development team.

When it comes to applying for Android/iOS apps to the store,
there are a lot of problems related to the AppStore, but you don't hear about many problems related to Google Play.
If you register the necessary information and apk from Google Play Consoe and press the "Start publishing" button, it will be published in a few hours.
...Yes, if nothing happens.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I had the experience of being rejected by Google Play, so
I will record the response and outcome in chronological order.

It's a bit long, but
I hope it helps those who have had similar problems solve their problems!

[Day 1] 8:15 App release procedure completed

The app was scheduled to be released by 12:00 on the day of the release, but due to a bug that was discovered last minute, we had to apply for release at this time.
Google Play often releases within 2 to 3 hours after the publishing procedure, so I was anxious to make it just in time.
However...

[Day 1] 12:06 ``There are apps that have been deleted or disapproved''

Even though it has been more than 3 hours since the procedure was completed, it has not been published on Google Play.
As I was checking the Console, I finally saw a change in the status.

Oh...?

There are characters I'm not used to seeing.

At this time, it has already passed 12:00, which is the scheduled release time of the app.
In a panic, I decided to contact Google.

[Day 1] 12:32 Contact Google...I can't do it!

A summary of the rejection reason will be posted on Google Play Console.
I was in a hurry, so I don't have any screenshots, but
it seems like the reason it was rejected was because it violated the policy regarding impersonation and intellectual property rights.
(As I learned later, the detailed reason for the rejection and response guidelines were sent to you via email at this time. At this time, I was applying using your developer account, so I was unable to check the email.) is rejected, please check your email first !

At this point, it hit me.
This is because this app was a collaboration app between companies.
The company we are collaborating with has already released an app under their own account.
In a sense, it is natural that an app with a similar icon and the same service name as that app would be suspected.

We need to resolve the issue as soon as possible and get the app released.
Rather than reapplying for an appeal and waiting for the outcome, it would be faster and more reliable to directly ask how to proceed.

Contact Google Play Developer Support now

There are two ways to contact us: chat or email.
However, inquiries by email

We typically respond within 48 business hours of receiving your email.

That's out of the question for now.

Let's chat

Available hours:
Monday to Friday: 10:00 to 17:00 (excluding 12:00 to 13:00)
Excluding holidays and holidays determined by our company

During lunch break...!

While the customers are quite nervous, we wait until 13:00 while gathering information...

[Day 1] 13:00 Chat with Google Support

It's now 13:00.
Please feel free to contact us via chat from the contact page.

Enter your name, email address (the address you use to log in to Google Play Console), and the details you want to inquire about, then send.
In fact, I entered the following information in the summary field.

app URL that I made public on Google Play was rejected with the message, "It has been rejected because it violates policies regarding impersonation and intellectual property rights."
This app is a joint project with (collaboration company) (collaboration service), but does this mean that it has been determined that it is `` impersonating ( collaboration service
) Also, what steps should I take to get this app approved?

Once your chat is accepted, a special window will open and you can start talking with the person in charge.
I was worried that I might need to communicate in English, but it seems like the other person is Japanese.
First of all, feel safe.

The full text of the chat is posted below.

Person in charge (tentative) 1:04 PM
The person in charge (tentative) will be in charge of your inquiry. Type your question and press Enter to send your message.

Person in charge (tentative) 1:05 PM
Mr. Nomura
Thank you for contacting Google Play Developer Support.
When this chat ends, a survey regarding the quality of this support will be displayed, so we would appreciate it if you could respond to that as well.
Please wait a moment while we verify the information you sent us.

Yuki Nomura 1:06
Thank you in the afternoon.

Person in charge (tentative) 1:06 pm
We understand that you have concerns regarding Google Play's policies.
We regret to inform you that we do not have the authority to provide information on Google Play's various policies and terms, so would it be okay if we forwarded this inquiry to our policy team?
Our policy team will then respond to you via email.

Yuki Nomura 1:07 PM
I understand. Would you like to know how long it will take to receive a response?

Asahi 1:08 PM
We are unable to give you an exact response, but we will normally respond within 48 hours.

Yuki Nomura 1:09
It takes quite a while in the afternoon. We were planning to issue a press release to coincide with the release of the app today, so we would appreciate it if you could respond as soon as possible.

Yuki Nomura 1:10
Thank you in the afternoon.

Person in charge (tentative) 1:10
It was late in the afternoon. We urge you to respond as soon as possible.

Person in charge (tentative) 1:11 PM
Do you have any other questions regarding the developer console?

Yuki Nomura 1:11 PM
No, this time it's only about apps that were rejected.

Person in charge (tentative)
Chat support will end at 1:12 pm.
We will be in touch with you soon, so thank you for your patience.

Yuki Nomura 1:12
Thank you in the afternoon.

Person in charge (tentative) 1:12 pm
Thank you for contacting Google Play Developer Support via chat. Chat connection has been terminated.
The person in charge (tentative) has ended the chat.

In the end, we couldn't resolve the issue through chat, but we decided to forward the matter to Google's policy team.

In addition, we will send an email to the Google policy team with the following as proof that it is a collaborative app.
・Press URL posted on the collaboration partner company's website
・Collaboration source - PDF file of the contract signed at the collaboration partner

However, on this day, there was no contact at all.

[Day 2] 8:14 Email from Google Play team

Thank you for contacting the Google Play team.

As a result of our review, we have confirmed that your app " (app name) " (package name) violates Google Play's policy regarding unauthorized use of copyrighted content.

What the policy says: Apps that infringe on copyright are not allowed.
Your app contains the following violation: (collaborating company app name) (see attached screenshot)

If you have obtained permission from the content owner, please submit one of the following documents proving permission in PFD file format in reply to this email.
A document that confirms the agreement between the app developer and the content owner regarding the use of the content (sealed or signed)
A document that confirms that the content owner authorizes the app developer to use the content (sealed or (signed)

Please see the link below for policy details and examples of violations.
Developer Policy Center
Unauthorized use of copyrighted content

If you have corrected the above violations and determined that your app is compliant with our policies, please resubmit your app. We will review your app again.

This decision does not currently affect your Google Play developer account, but
if we see multiple violations, we may suspend the app or your Google Play developer account.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you for your continued support of Google Play.

Google Play Team
xxx

I don't think this argument is making any sense, but it seems
that the logo of the icon image is similar to an icon image that has already been released by the collaboration company, so it has been determined to be a policy violation.
・A document that confirms the agreement between the app developer and the content owner regarding the use of the content (sealed or signed)

・A document that confirms that the content owner authorizes the app developer to use the content (sealed) This means that unless you prepare this document (
completed or signed) The file and URL sent yesterday are not sufficient evidence.
It's quite troublesome...

After consulting with the customer, we decided to have the documents aligned without changing the icons.

[Day 2] 13:48 Email documents to Google Play team

The customer has prepared the documents, so I will send them to Google as soon as possible.
The email text is in the following format

Google Play person in charge

Thank you for your help.

Regarding this matter, we have prepared a document that confirms the mutual agreement between the app developer and the content owner regarding the use of the content (sealed or signed).
It is attached to this email, so please check it.

The release of this app
will also affect the schedules of customers who are releasing apps from (collaboration company)

We apologize for the inconvenience, but
we would appreciate your consideration.

Thank you for confirming that the app is approved.

We only accept applications via email, so you may not receive an immediate response.
Chat is the only way to get a real-time response, but
based on yesterday's interaction, the chat person doesn't have the authority to provide policy guidance, so you'll likely only get a templated response.

All we can do is wait.

[2nd day] 18:00 Reminder email to Google Play team

Since the customer is in a hurry, we will send a reminder email to Google.
Mere reminders are one-sided, so I will also write an inquiry asking if there is anything that can be done to speed up the release.

...but still no reply.

[3rd day] 8:56 Email from GooglePlay confirming approval!

Finally, the long-awaited approval email!
Hurry up and "resubmit" the app from Google Play Console.

It should be okay this time.

[3rd day] 10:50 App release

Approximately 2 hours after the app's "resend".
It took more than 2 days and 2 hours after the initial application for publication to be published.
It was long...

summary

・GooglePlay also has rejects!

Well, I was aware of it, but I wasn't aware of what was being checked and at what timing.
There should not have been any manual checks between the publishing procedure from Console and the publishing on Google Play. It was probably rejected because an automatic check found that the image was similar to an existing app.

・If you have any questions, please contact developer support via chat.

Chat reception is limited to weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00 (excluding 12:00 to 13:00), but you are likely to receive appropriate advice. If you have any questions, please ask via chat.

・Check whether advance notification to Google Play is required.

If you have obtained prior permission from the content owner to develop an app using content owned by a third party,
please use this form ( https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/ 6320428 ), please consider submitting proof documents to the Google Play team in advance.

This was a problem that could have been avoided if I had done exactly this. I think there is no harm in keeping it in the back of your mind.

·others

It's a small detail, but all of the emails from Google arrived around 8 o'clock during the day.
After inquiring by email, check your email first thing in the morning.

lastly

I have opened the system development service site "SEKARAKU Lab" to which I belong.
Beyond is a one-stop service for everything from server design and construction to operation, so if you have any trouble with server-side development, please feel free to contact us.
SEKARAKU Lab: https://sekarakulab.beyondjapan.com/Have
 
a nice developer life!