Today Google removed Podcast Addict from the Play Store. Sometimes people publish podcasts containing sexually explicit material, and Podcast Addict is capable of accessing such material.
“Podcast Addict was the #1 podcast app on the Play Store with 4M downloads, 175K reviews and an average rating of 4.6/5
The app almost had 500K daily users and more than 1M episodes were listened to everyday through the app...”
So the Play Store prevents podcast listeners from using a popular podcasting app.
Last week I discovered that my app, Shush Ringer Restorer has an unauthorized clone in the Play Store. That app has the same exact name as my app, which I assume is in an attempt at tricking users into downloading the wrong app. I petitioned Google to take down this lookalike app, with links to all the media attention Shush has received.
They declined because I haven’t registered a trademark:
“Thanks for submitting your trademark complaint, dated 01/04/2015. We will not be taking action against the apps in question at this time as we are unable to ascertain the validity of your trademark rights. If you'd like us to investigate further, please send us evidence that you own an active word mark registration in standard characters for that trademark in that country.”
So the Play Store obligates app publishers to prevent users from being tricked. If you have an app in the Play Store, you should consider registering a trademark.