Alright, so maybe it wasn\’t the legal dispute of the century. But you\’ve got to admit, for two little iPhone flatulence apps, we sure did make a stink!
As you may recall, the fun and games began when Air-O-Matic, the creators of Pull My Finger, contacted me with a demand for $50,000. Why? They claimed that my use of the phrase \”pull my finger\” in a small portion of our online marketing campaign was responsible for the meteoric rise of iFart to the top of the iTunes app store charts. Subsequently, Pull My Finger dropped like a rock off the charts.
Now I knew that this usage of the phrase had absolutely nothing to do with our success. In fact, one day I may write an ebook about the success of iFart, from the genesis of the idea to the #1 status to the massive media coverage it received. But that\’s another day.
When Air-o-Matic threatened me and my company, I decided to be proactive and file for \”declaratory judgment\” with a Federal court in Colorado. In other words, I wanted a Federal judge to tell the Pull My Finger folks to \”go away and leave Joel alone.\”
Man, I really want to tell you the whole story, but its going to have to wait.
Suffice to say that the legal dispute has reached a happy ended. :-)
Our two companies have come together to release a free application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. What do you call an app that is the spawn of two companies that have created flatulence applications and had a very public legal dispute?
\”Clear the Air\”, of course!
You can read the press release here.
When I get around to it, I will tell the entire story of iFart. It\’s a ripper of a tale. ;-)