The Apple App Store appears to be more of a fine china and caviar kind of place rather than the land of whoopee cushions ... you know, classy. That’s because Apple Inc. has a reputation for being touchy when it comes to which applications it allows in. And to that point, it just said no to a South Park application featuring uncomfortably inappropriate yet adorably drawn cartoon children.
However, as with most things there’s a seamy underbelly in App Store World, playing itself out in the form of a legal battle between competing providers of faux flatulence (“fake fart” just doesn’t sound high-end enough).
There are literally dozens of these types if gas-passing audio applications, but the controversy surrounds the "Pull My Finger" app, from the appropriately named Air-O-Matic, which is trying to gain a corner on the use of the term “pull my finger,” since that’s what it decided to call its program. The problem is that rival "iFart Mobile" uses the phrase in its ads, claiming it’s a mainstream phrase that can’t be commandeered.
But something doesn’t smell right, said Air-O-Matic attorney Karen Koster in a demand letter: "InfoMedia's efforts have been directed at merging 'Pull My Finger' and 'iFart' in the consumers' minds, so that searches for 'Pull My Finger' pull up the iFart application."
Air-O-Matic wants $50,000 in payment to, um, clear the air.
So let’s get this straight: audio simulations of bodily functions are just fine, but an application that provides clips of a popular if lacking-in-taste sitcom one can find on basic cable. Apple says the South Park material is potentially offensive.
Stay classy, App Store!
