BlackBerry App World

I recently reviewed the agreements that Research in Motion makes application developer vendors accept prior to offering products on BlackBerry App World, which is RIM’s marketplace for BlackBerry applications. Depending upon whether the code to be distributed is a free application, a paid-for application, or a product or content offered from within a distributed application, the distribution on BlackBerry App World is governed by different terms. Here’s a brief review of key and otherwise interesting provisions of the agreements that apply to all distributions (as the agreements existed on the RIM website as of May 10, 2011).

All Vendors.

All developer vendors, regardless of the type of software to be distributed at BlackBerry App World, must agree to the terms of the BlackBerry App World Vendor Agreement, submit software that is compliant with the BlackBerry SDK License Agreement, and comply with the BlackBerry App World Vendor Guidelines.

Under the BlackBerry App World Vendor Agreement, the vendor must pay a registration fee and submit the latest version of its application for review by RIM and acceptance at RIM’s sole discretion.  RIM may, or may not, distribute any application or content at its sole discretion, and may at any time and for any reason discontinue the distribution of any application or content on BlackBerry App World or on any user’s phone. The vendor is solely responsible for end user support. The vendor is required to make a long list of representations and warranties about its applications and content and is required to hold RIM harmless from a similarly long list of damages and liabilities that may result from the distribution. RIM accepts no liability for any bad things that may occur as a result of the distribution.  The financial terms of the distribution are straightforward. RIM claims 30% of all revenue received by vendor with respect to any application or in-app product distributed through BlackBerry App World (and any updates and upgrades to the the application or content, whether or not distributed through he RIM portal).  Importantly, however, the revenue to be shared does not include any fees paid by an end user to a third-party reseller (otherwise know as a merchant of record) to obtain a copy of the application or in-app product. This is important because currently all amounts paid by end-users for applications and in-app content are, by the nature of the portal, paid to such resellers and not RIM or the vendor.  Each vendor must sign separate agreements with these resellers, which include Digital River and Bango.net.

The BlackBerry SDK License Agreement states the conditions and restrictions applicable to use of the BlackBerry SDK to build software operable on BlackBerry devices.  They include specific restrictions on that software, including that the software not modify, delete, duplicate, or replace any device email functionality, synchronization server technology, or attachment service distillers.  The software must not install, invoke, interpret, or execute interpreted software other than software interpreted by RIM native interpreters.  RIM may refuse to code-sign any software, vendor is responsible for obtaining any required certifications of airtime service providers respecting compatibility with wireless networks, and any application offered in conjunction with location-based services or functionality must obtain consent of the end user before processing location data.  RIM claims that the contents of its SDK are confidential information and that vendor must treat it as confidential until it enters the public domain. The SDK License Agreement includes vendor representations and warranties, indemnification provisions, and limitations of RIM’s liability similar to the BlackBerry App World Vendor Agreement.

The BlackBerry App World Vendor Guidelines is the final of the three base documents to which all distributed BlackBerry software must adhere.  Of note, under these guidelines, all software must be functionally stable, each application must alert end users of potential airtime usage charges, any cryptographic functionality must be limited to authentication, digital signature, or copyright protection functions, and the software must comply with applicable SDK license agreements.

Vendors of Paid-for Applications and In-app Products. 

In addition to the terms discussed above, a vendor that wants to distribute paid-for applications and in-app products on BlackBerry App World must enter into two different reseller agreements.  One with Digital River and another with Bango.net Limited. These reseller agreements are largely identical and describe the terms under which these resellers will purchase copies of vendors paid-for apps and in-app products and resell them through the reseller’s commerce solution kiosk on BlackBerry App World. Under these reseller agreements, and the distribution structure used by BlackBerry App World, a reseller, and not the developer vendor, has the commercial relationship with the end user buyer of applications and in-app products.  As a result, BlackBerry apps are distributed through a multi-link chain, and not directly by the developer-vendor.  The reseller has no actual obligation to resell.  Vendor is responsible for product support. The reseller promises to pay vendor for each copy of the paid-for application or in-app product an amount that is 70% of the suggested retail price of that application or product set by the vendor developer.

Vendors that want to distribute in-app products from within applications distributed on BlackBerry App World must also agree to the BlackBerry Payment Service SDK Terms, which supplement the BlackBerry SDK License Agreement discussed above. This supplement makes the legalistic point that, in the case of in-app products, the vendor developer acts as the fulfillment agent of the reseller.  It is the vendor that hosts and delivers the in-app products, but the reseller retains the commercial relationship with the end-user as the merchant of record.

Here are the documents discussed above, found on the RIM website as of May 10, 2011. 

Blackberry App World Docs