Third-party product names banned in Microsoft Store products names but customers need them to find and understand products quickly

Richard Freytag 26

Microsoft App Store policy bans product names mentioning third-party products [1]. Currently this rule is inconsistently applied by Microsoft Store app reviewers because it isn't clear.

Non-deceptive usage of third-party brands with products is fair use by Trademark rules [2]. Furthermore, products supporting third-party products must emphasize their supporting/dependent role as shown by many products in the Microsoft Store that incorporate third party products in their name [3].

This policy is not consistently applied by the Microsoft Store app reviewers. Many apps use third-party products in their names; yet two many-years-old products of ours recently were rejected because of this rule. Clearly, either the rule must change or all products breaking this Store policy seem to require a name change (a bad choice IMO).

Please change Store policy to italicize only the third-party product name in Microsoft Store product titles to clarify they are not part of the actual name. Also require a disclaimer below the product name declaring “<third-party product> is a product of <publisher third-party-publisher-name>”.

References:

See second bullet under 10.1 “Your product must not use a name, images, or any other metadata that is the same as that of other products unless the product is also published by you.” (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/publish/store-policies#101-distinct-function--value-accurate-representation)
See point #2 “Nominative fair use permits use of another’s trademark to refer to the trademark owner’s goods and services associated with the mark.” (https://www.inta.org/fact-sheets/fair-use-of-trademarks-intended-for-a-non-legal-audience/)
Here are products currently in the Microsoft Store that accurately and fairly use the name of a third-party product (names are in the URLs)…<please see #3 here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/75148703/third-party-product-names-banned-in-microsoft-store-products-names-but-customers> because this forum limits the number of URLs in a posting.

1 answer

Michael Taylor 47,806 Reputation points

2023-01-17T17:04:17.4233333+00:00

This forum is for getting help with MS product. I don't believe this is the correct place to provide feedback about MS Store policies. We cannot help you resolve this issue.
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Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-01-17T17:11:13.9966667+00:00

I posted https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1160680/where-to-post-questions-and-suggestions-about-micr and Roy Li said the only problem was too many reference URLs. Thank you.

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-01-17T18:10:02.9366667+00:00

@Micheal Taylor Where does this problem get resolved publicly for all to enjoy the answer if this is not the correct forum?

Michael Taylor 47,806 Reputation points

2023-01-17T19:20:11.47+00:00

Feedback for the page you mentioned can be given by clicking the Feedback link on that page. It will then be sent to the appropriate documentation team so they can review your feedback. Alternatively you may have the edit option on that page that you can make the changes yourself and then submit those changes to the team so they can review it.

This forum is about asking questions and getting answers from others in the community. We don't have any more access or insight into the docs than you do. Hence we cannot really help you with getting the docs changed.

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-01-18T01:22:43.0866667+00:00

I will give that a try; thanks.

Roy Li - MSFT 31,766 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-01-19T06:23:07.6166667+00:00

@Richard Freytag If your app is rejected by the store because this policy, you could open a free support ticket and contact the store team for detailed reason about this. But if you just want to discuss about the store policy, then the quesion will be out of the scope of Microsoft Q&A.

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-01-25T18:42:21.4+00:00

Roy, are you talking about submitting an incident to reportapp@microsoft.com? If so we only receive a non-automated response 1/6th of the time.

Found this link to reportapp@microsoft.com through: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/support/?tabs=Contact-us

The 'app certification failures' incident only directs me to email: reportapp@microsoft.com
The other non-technical incidents do have reporting numbers but don't seem relevant.

Why is the app certification failures incident reporting the only one with no accountability (even stopped supporting chat since Jan 1, 2023)?

We are talking about INCONSISTENT application of Store Policy between apps currently in the store. I cannot find accountability from reportapp@microsoft.com when 'app certification failure' incidents are submitted.

Am I mistaken?

Why isn't there an incident # for tracking incident reports for 'app certification failures'?

Roy Li - MSFT 31,766 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-01-26T01:22:02.14+00:00

@Richard Freytag As I mentioned, if you don't have an app that is rejected by the store, and you just want to discuss about the Store policies. I have to say this question will be out of the scope of Microsoft Q&A

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-01-26T12:22:57.16+00:00

Thank you for your reply Roy.

The app "Export your Google Calendar" has been in the store for years. Now it is rejected. reportapp@microsoft.com does not provide any issue tracking and will not provide resolution or timeframe for a resolution even after weeks of requests.

As I said, "We are talking about INCONSISTENT application of Store Policy between apps currently in the store. I cannot find accountability from reportapp@microsoft.com when 'app certification failure' incidents are submitted.

Am I mistaken?

Why isn't there an incident # for tracking incident reports for 'app certification failures'?"

Roy Li - MSFT 31,766 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-01-27T01:45:47.5066667+00:00

If your app has been rejected from the store due to policy reason, then you will need to talk to the store team directly. There is nothing we could do from our forum support side. You should open a support ticked which you've already found here: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/support/?tabs=Contact-us. This is the only way to contact the store team directly.

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-01-27T14:32:58.69+00:00

Thank you for your reply Roy.

Not sure if it was clear that [https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/support/?tabs=Contact-us
... has a link "app certification failure" which only links to an email address. There is no tracking/accountability behind this link.

The other options (see below) are not for "app certification failure" and previous attempts to take this concern there have been rejected; but I will try again. Thank you - Richard F.

Non-Technical Support - Dashboard Account Setup & Management Payouts (apps, Minecraft, Flight Simulator) Reporting/Analytics App Submissions & Management

Roy Li - MSFT 31,766 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-01-30T01:36:17.24+00:00

When you choose to open a ticket, your request will be sent to the team and team will contact you in email. App submission option contains the scenario that apps are rejected by the Store.

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-03-14T18:36:17.1533333+00:00

@Roy Li @Michael Taylor Is there a public Microsoft Forum to discuss Microsoft Store Policies?

Roy Li - MSFT 31,766 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-03-15T10:02:31.0333333+00:00

Currently, no. At least, this is out of scope of the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Richard Freytag 26 Reputation points

2023-03-15T12:20:37.1966667+00:00

Thanks @Roy Li for your reply. Open discussion around all Partner-facing services would improve all aspects of the Microsoft-Partner relationship. There needs to be such a public forum for the Microsoft Store.
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