Navigating the Impersonation Policy

Recently, Google Play has been readily enforcing their Impersonation and Intellectual Property policy. This policy is meant to protect trademark rights and reduce infringement on intellectual property. While it is a good policy, it may affect your ability as a developer to create apps on behalf of other businesses. Luckily, there is a way to be proactive about this to avoid rejection.

To avoid your Android app being rejected due to the Impersonation policy, please follow the below steps: 
Prior to requesting the publication of your Android app, create a document between you (the developer) and the third party whose trademark or intellectual property will be used within the app. The document should grant you permission to create an app on their behalf and use their trademark and/or intellectual property within the app store listing (e.g. Brand names and logos, graphic assets, audio, etc.). 
Make sure the document has been physically signed by both you and the third party. If you can have the document notarized, even better! 
The best form of “proof” is a letter from your customer authorising the use of all copyrighted/registered content. This confirmation from your client should be on the letterhead paper of the business and signed by the Director/CEO/Owner. 

Along with providing an authorisation letter, you must include examples of verifiable documentation, including but not limited to:

  • Distribution Agreement
  • Authorisation Contract
  • Website Domain Information

Please ensure the scan is high quality/resolution in PDF format (we’ve even had our proof rejected in the past!). Here is an example letter template that you can use:

Example Template Letter for Use of Copyrighted Content

If you would like to know more on this subject, here are a couple of articles directly from Google:

If you have any further questions, please contact support@eazi-apps.co.uk