UnityAGK not coming to Unity Asset Store!

Hello all, I posted previously about my asset UnityAGK being rejected from the Asset Store because of a so called Unity Asset Store Policy stating that I am unable to include "Unity" in the name of my asset... all the while there are 21 other Assets that I found on the Asset Store with "Unity" in the name...

I Ranted and Cursed the Asset Store and my Thread was Removed! and you know what... I'm not sorry about it... or regretful because today I get a response from Asset Store Managers pretty much telling me I have no choice but to rename (re-brand) my asset, and they might have mistakenly let a few assets slip through the cracks...

A FEW ASSETS??? DO YOU CALL 21 ASSETS A FEW ASSETS??? that's far from a few assets... and if they are telling me that these assets slipped through, that means that this "DON'T NAME YOUR ASSET UNITY" Policy has been in effect for some time now....

If that's the case please explain this... WHY IS THIS NOT STATED ON THE UNITY ASSET STORE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES!??? http://unity3d.com/asset-store/sell-assets/submission-guidelines

NOTE: If Unity manages to update there guidelines now after this incident, then guess what I have a screenshot of the Original included below...

I am being treated totally unfairly... I refuse to rename (re-brand) my asset because Unity failed to include this so called "Don't name your Asset Unity" Policy in the Submission Guidelines, and magically this Policy seems to ONLY apply to me!! while 21 other Assets Supposedly Slipped through the Cracks as Asset Store Managers Say...

I'm Posting this NOT TO RANT, but to show you all HOW I AM BEING TREATED! and HOW YOU MAY GET TREATED SOMEDAY! I want your support on this thread to show Unity, and Asset Store Managers that is is NOT COOL!! This is not how we do business, and this not how we treat Unity Developers!

ORIGINAL ASSET STORE GUIDELINES (No Mention of "Don't name your Asset Unity")

LINK TO IMAGE: http://forum.unity3d.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=72677&d=1383059555

 

2. Restricted Content

Your submission cannot contain trademarks, logos or branding which you do not own.

 

AndyLL last I checked I don't have a Trademark, Logo, or Branding anything which I don't Own...

You can't Trademark, or Copyright a Word like "Unity" it's a matter of how the Word is Used such as in a Logo Design and what the Product is that uses the Word "Unity" in their Brand Name or Product Name.

UnityAGK is one Word... my asset is not called "Unity"... it's different if I created another Game Engine and tried to Label my Game Engine "Unity", then that is simply asking for Trouble and Copyright, Trademark infringement because it is a direct competitor, and product if named "Unity" could cause Damage to the Original Unity Engine so that makes more sense.

my asset is bunch of Scripts that depend on Unity Engine to help people make a game... my asset is Not a Game Engine, So I am not infringing on Unity's Branding, Trandemark, or Logo in anyway...

They have a Section in the Guideline Called "Naming your Asset" it's pretty obvious that if you don't want other people, developers naming their Asset "Unity" anything... your should specify this Clearly under this Section.

O wait I guess i'm suppose to just Guess that what Unity meant by Restricted Content is "Don't include Unity in the name" without them specifying it under Restrictions... O and lets not forget 21 other assets got approved on the Asset Store with no problem...

So it's pretty safe to think that you would be OK as well... as if there is a Policy in effect that states "Don't name your asset Unity" then this would apply to all these other assets as well that "so called a few slipped through the cracks" 21 is far from a few.... seems this policy only apply to me??? hmmm

 

Fully support you Kuroato, its not just Unity, other brands do the same thing, Minecraft example: Mine and Craft are full words in English dictionary, Apple is also a full real word. I'm sick of companies treating certain words like they own them. I couldnt submit a application to apple store as one the keywords in the meta data was "craft".. I will buy your kit to support you.. Unless they remove all Unity kits with name Unity then its fair.

 

Yeah its pretty absurd if they have 21 instances where unity is in the title but its not okay when you do it. I bet in a few weeks you will notice that its something like 23 because they only enforce the rules some of the time.

 

21 out of thousands of assets on the store is actually a very small percentage. Rules will continue to change over time and still will never be perfect.

Kuroato, we talked about this over PMs so I'm not sure why you're posting about this again. Why can't you simply rename it to AGK or similar and drop the Unity part? Why is this such a huge deal to you?

If you choose not to change the name and only sell it outside of the Asset Store purely out of principal that you caught a mistake in the guidelines that's up to you. But unfortunately the only person that will be genuinely affected by this choice is you by the loss of sales of your product. It doesn't seem worth it.

 

Thanks for posting this as a warning to others who may submit works. However, I guess I don't really get the animosity. If you're angry, wait a little while before you post something like this. It just comes off as ranting, whether you say you're ranting or not. (It sounds like "I'm not upset, damnit!")

The bottom line is, you're a guest asking for permission to use their resources to market and sell your product. If they say no, because they don't like the color green, whether they warned you or not, then the answer's no.

If you think you're safe from trademark claims on your product, sell it elsewhere. However, trademark law is murky and I wouldn't be so confident that "UnityFOO" won't be actionable, especially if it's a product designed to work with/in/for the Unity Technologies game authoring toolkit.

 

Thanks Max and here is what kills me... Managers just replied telling me, "yes your right the Guidelines should be updated" and that's it.... ???

So basically they say Ops we messed up, Sucks for you and your Asset? No offering any compensation or anything in return for there screw ups that I am effected by.... they simply don't care is what they are saying...

I'm just a little guy trying to get my asset on the store along with everyone else, ooo wait he has Unity in his Kit hmmm there are 21 others and that's OK for those to get through, but lets Nail this guy! and who cares if he rants on about how unfair it is... we are UNITY we can do what we want...

I love how Indie's make up most of the fan and user base of Unity but yet we can still be pushed aside after we get them to a #1 status position on the Market! Just amazing how they treat us...

and I say us because if they can pull this on me... surely they will do this to any of you in one way or another...

 

I guess some of you who get mis-treated just standby and let people push you around...

unfair is unfair period... so basically some of you are saying no one should ever voice their frustration with being mistreated, and just keep quite about it all the time and not inform others about such experiences...

i'd rather be informed, and know what i'm dealing with based on other peoples experiences than go in head first and hit a wall...

i'm sharing my experience with Unity Asset Store simple... take it or leave it.... support it or not... i'm sharing for others to know how us indie's are treated unfairly by the big guys who think they can do what they want after we support them and rave about them and bring them more business... but yet we get pushed aside...

that's why im sharing this...

yes, i may very well end up changing my game kits name... but still doesn't mean I shouldnt share this for others to know how we are, can, and will be treated with Unity screws up.

 

I get that you're miffed, Kurako, and feel like you've wasted a lot of energy, but you can't argue that Unity are in the wrong.

Terms change, and the bigger a company gets the more important it is for them to protect their trademarks, and distinguish the main product (Unity) from third party plug-ins, extensions and content. This is as much for the protection of end-users as it is for UT - it's a fairly well established practice, and leans on the importance of ensuring nobody's product comes across as officially sanctioned or recommended.

That may seem like a thin argument, but no less so than your counter-argument that you're being singled out (opposed to the 21 previous submissions).

That's business; sometimes we have to play by someone else's rules - rename, move on... you're not helping yourself by kicking up a public tantrum (sorry man, that's what it comes across as!).

 

Pix10 your right... I understand this is business... I am sharing my experience simple. I'm well aware of what I may have to do, but others deserve to know what goes on behind the scenes, and I think i'm doing a better job at sharing my experience than the first time with me cursing the Asset Store, so give me some credit for keeping my cool lol!

I don't feel like i've wasted my time or energy... people need to know what goes on when Unity screws up, and how one is treated... I mean really how does any News make it on Tweeter, or any of your News Outlets to begin with? Someone's gota start ranting about something before it makes headlines lol.

 

Probably the smart thing to is to change the name because money is money and the asset store is really the only game in town, how are you going to get traffic to your asset without it.

 

yes I know... I know... :neutral:

 

just replace unity with a u, and say it stands for somethings else, like unique, unfair..

 

They're doing it to keep your asset out of searches by folk that are searching for Unity assets, not that it matters too much because in most cases people don't use search because SEOs have mostly ruined the results, even on Google. It's also surprising to hear that Apple would reject an app submission based on one using 'craft' in the metadata. That's truly inane unless it was clear that the word 'craft' was being used in the metadata because the submitted game was a facsimile to 'minecraft'.

You and others that attempt to leverage the popularity of a trademark SEO style should realize many reject such products in the 'electronic product category' without inspection as the production of hackers out to make a quick buck so Unity is doing you a favor really.

So why not rename your game to 'IndyAGK' unless that's rejected because the Indy 500 or the owners of the Indy Jones copyright have been causing a ruckus.

The Bread Water Adventure Game Kit (BAW-AGK) sounds good to me given the fuss you're making over such an easily solved problem.

 

LOL

 

OK sounds good... i'll rename it to BAW-AGK awesome idea lol!

 

I'm afraid you can't do that. http://www.trademarkia.com/bread--water-company-est-2011-85449455.html

 

gosh dang!!! i just have some luck don't I ? LOL!... Geez...

 

Your right about them enforcing naming rules without declaring them first
but if you think about it, it make no since adding unity in your asset name to begin with. we know its for unity engine since we are at their store
and removing the word will not effect the meaning.
good luck with the sales

 

Well that's what we are here for Kuroato, as a community to listen to your rants and support each other.

It's good that you've come out and made this public, often times companies only start listening when people make a big rant publicly about something. UT should update their Asset Store policy, and clearly state that the word Unity is not allowed in the assets if that is the case. I agree with you, simply telling you it's not 'allowed', then carrying on with without updating the store policy is not acceptable.

I can understand it from UT's point though, perhaps there is a reason they cannot change the names of existing asset store products that were previously accepted with 'Unity' in the name, as that might confuse people who previously purchased it, or for some other reason.

Anyway, change your asset name to something funky, and may you have many sales!

 

Oh god, that was hillarious.

Anyways on with the thread. I totally understand your situation, but sometimes life just isn't fair.

I can sorta compare this, for example let's say a police officer comes up to check a bag you have. Should you give him the bag? I mean you have the rights to not show him anything, but in the end you'll usually end up giving him the bag and the day goes on...

For your situation, you show Unity your asset, it has the word "Unity" in it, nothing restricts that in the evidence you shown us. Yet in the end you'll probably end up renaming it and just continue with the day.

Not sure if that made sense... but yeah.
(Change it to Un1tyAGK, nyeh nyeh nyeh.)

 

Thanks guys...

and @ Meltdown

Yes that's exactly the idea... we may not ever be able to add "Unity" to our Assets name's going forward but at least this may potentially get the attention of someone higher up that gets a bright idea of how to make things better for us or avoid future related issues.

 

LOL, not the same industry so he can, but Bread Butter works too.

Also it says the application was abandoned. Rule of thumb is names can be re-purposed in different industries (we nerds call it overloading or polymorphism). Also the main thing is he's naming a product, not a company, though it's a cheeky name for an Indy game company.

 

Yeah, I agree entirely.

To me this sounds kind of like bridge burning when leaving a job you didn't like. It may feel good at the time, but what happens when a future potential employer rings them as a reference? And would a potential future employee want to get involved with you, or would they instead question what you'll be saying about them at the pub after work?

The thing is that even if everything said is true and correct it actually reflects more on the person saying it than it does on the people being complained about. Nothing is perfect and unfortunately the world isn't fair. The people you need to do business with accepted that a long time ago, what's important is how you deal with it.

 

just change the name dude, AGK is the important bit... unity is irrelevant (of course its unity, its on their asset store).

not. that. big. of. a. deal.

 

This is stupid. You aren't being hurt in any way by having to slightly change the name of your asset. It's not some unique name that has a lot of meaning, changing it won't hurt your sales, there's no reason why you should be fighting about this. If it was an issue that actually mattered I'd be right behind you but this is ridiculous. Something I'd expect from a 14 year old.

 

+1

 

UniAGK??

 

-1

That's a pretty stupid point to make. He already clearly said he know's he'll probably change the name.

This post is necessary because there might be a couple people working on a package with "Unity" in the name with NO way of knowing(after they setup their sites, etc) that they'll be rejected from the store because the name "Unity" isn't allowed. Personally, I didn't know this would be an issue until now.

The point is simple, it should be stated so that people can know. If this is acceptable(without notice) then that means they could reject anything with a spontaneous reason, "Oh, we don't like green"... Sure, you could justify why their reason for not liking green is valid and "just use another colour" but... it should be stated to save time, effort, money.

 

Call it:

YtinuAGK

 

drop the AGK, too confusing IMO, I was going to try and write this all with acronyms but INSE (I'm not smart enough )

 

it's standard industry practice to no allow you to use their name as part of your name.

UnityAGK is misleading and unity is correct in not allow authors to use it.

why not call it AGK for Unity which is acceptable and is more descriptive of what it is... plus i like it better

 

I see we have different opinions about this topic, which is fine... you don't need to agree, but I can only say when it's your turn (if ever) to deal with something like this then you might feel bit differently, or maybe you won't.

Maybe you just might say to yourself "yep it's cool for a company to reject my hardwork and brand name product even if they dont specify the restriction or policy i'm affected by in the Submission Guidelines" if you don't find something wrong with that then hmmm i don't know, just wait until your affected by something similar and see how you feel about when it hits you... either way all opinions are welcomed and yours to keep as well as mine, so all good.

on another Note, UnityAGK did not make it on the Asset Store but "UAGK" did lol!
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/12359

and @ BFGames

dang what a great idea... too bad i went with UAGK... bla... YtinuAGK would have been better! lol! thanks

 

I think you need to lighten up.

It isn't your brand you are arguing about. The use of the name is clearly trying to capitalise on the unity brand. I get why you did it, makes sense to reject it. The "AGK for unity" makes more sense and probably would of been allowed since there can be no confusion it is an official branded unity project. You picked a name which was intentionally trying to confuse your brand with the official brand. I think you need to think about how you would feel if someone tried to use a brand you had developed in that way.

 

TheRaider you may be right regarding "you need to think about how you would feel if someone tried to use a brand you had developed in that way" BUT I was never upset that they didn't allow me to use "Unity" in the name of my asset, I was upset due to the fact that they did not Specify this in the Submission Guidelines. I clearly understand their reason for Rejecting it, but the Reason was not stated in the Submission Guidelines, and also 21 Other Assets Slipped through the Cracks, and I mention "21" is far from a few assets to allow to slip through the cracks. Asset Store Managers made it very clear that this "Don't Name your Asset Unity" Policy has been in effect probably for more than a year now since all those previous assets date back a year, and should not have gone through... You are missing my point, and missing all the details I shared regarding my real reason for the upset.

But it all doesn't matter now... my asset has been renamed and approved! I gave in, took a deep breath, and kept on with my day as others pointed out the inevitable outcome. I just thought to bring some awareness for others who probably never knew they shouldn't name their Asset "Unity" anything, 21 other Assets exist with Unity in their name so i'm pretty sure others will have the same idea in the near future, or maybe were thinking of doing it now.... but maybe after this post they'll know not to do it... as the Submission Guidelines are still not Updated to Reflect this Policy.

 

You are right to make a statement about this issue, many guidelines are not mentioned in the doc you linked. But the way you handled this is very unprofessional. At least you created some PR for your asset (which looks interesting).

 

Yes and yes.

 

marrrk

lol / well said / right on target

i looked at his asset and it looks interesting, perhaps even worth getting, some small issues i would like to have resolved first, but its not bad at all.

hey author so will you fix minor issues??? like targeting being a bit off and not being able to change screen resolution and other settings ingame and a list of other small things? If you willing to improve it a bit, im interested. also forget the name thing. it just does not look professional as marrk posted. it will hurt your sales. people dont want to buy from someone who is upset or who gets upset. dont take me wrong. its just puts people off, leaves a bad taste. anyways. cheer up we all get upset with unity asset store. like when we buy an asset that is clearly broken and we cant get a refund and the author does not care to support it.

so are we encouraging bad behavior is we buy a copy

 

The AssetStore is managed very poorly IMO.
I'm absolutely with Kuroato here, since I've got also some bad experiences while dealing with the Asset Store.

Take the sales events as example.

I asked to get one of my packs into one in June. And they told me they noted my pack for a upcoming sale in the same month, with the note that this is based on a first come first serve basis.
Since then nothing happened. I've e-mailed them asking when my package is eventually going on sale. And after a long discussion with someone called Ben, I was told he doesn't know when it's going on sale.
Isn't this strange? If this is based on a first come first serve basis, how comes that they can't give you a exact schedule... You would assume there is a queue for all assets...

Or how comes that the Digital Nature pack is again on sale today (it participated in the last Madness Sale as well) when this launched even later than my package (which was released in May)?
Maybe they have another idea about "First come, first serve basis" than me.

Long story short. I ended up with my own sale on my website.

I'm not sure if I want to create content for the AssetStore again. I really don't have much motivation for that, even if I got only positive feedback from customers so far. There is too much going wrong IMO.

 

nipoco: You are right, the AssetStore system is underdeveloped and should be more transparent on what we need to do and how things work (the sales for example). There are many interfaces missing, for example to enlist into the sales.

I understand that the unity staff chooses what will go on sale, but the lack of communication with the sellers is disappointing.

The number of threads criticsm the AssetStore are growing fast and the last ones base upon the fact that many guidelines are only mentioned through the try and error principle by releasing an asset and getting rejected.

You are all correct by raising your voice. But please keep in mind that if you want Unity to listen to you, that you create a good discussion atmosphere. Something the OP forgot. I want this issues resolved, but I don´t want to sound like a spoiled kindergarten child (this was not about you nipoco).

 

Indeed this needs to be discussed in a civil manner. I absolutely agree with you Mark.
On the other side I partly understand if this leads to a heated reaction. There is so much criticism and almost no change, since years... This can be frustrating and daunting. And its a serious matter since money is involved. For customers and vendors alike.

Couldn't agree more.

 

Yeah they say squeaky wheel gets the oil and guess what the ops package was featured on the front page of the asset store.

 

OK, well sorry it seems unprofessional... but hey i'm just another indie trying to make it in this tough industry and hmmm i guess i should not have dropped out of my business 101 class in college to learn some proper business etiquette, sorry about that! lol! stuff happens... we do some dumb things in our post-teenage years... o well best i can do now is learn from my experiences and move forward right?

 

Well I did this too a while ago. Complaining about the obviously biased way to choose homepage features. After that I got one too lol.

But Kuroato's Action Game Kit is also worth a feature.

Unfortunately that does not change the way how the AssetStore is managed as a whole. There are al lot issues that needs to be addressed. Just some cosmetic changes won't do that.

 

wow that sucks sorry to hear. i do notice that a number of assets that i dont want keep going on sale. perhaps they put things that are not selling on sale. you can always lower your prices and then put them back up. i notice a number of authors do that. they have their own sale by moving price up and down and posting about it here and at the asset store page.

anyways dont feel bad this is how most companies make their decisions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz-PtEJEaqY

 

Yeah sure, Unity should say you can't put their name in your asset. But guess who they're hurting by not doing that right now? No one. Here's how this situation would have gone down with someone who doesn't need to blow everything out of proportion and be stubborn for no reason.

Person submits they're asset "UnityBMF" to asset store

Unity rejects the asset and says that Unity cannot be in the name

Person re-submits they're asset as "BMF"

Again, if this was an issue that would actually affect something I'd be right with you. But this is about the name of an asset and it doesn't matter. There's no reason to have made two threads about it and freak out like this besides to act like a dick and promote your asset.

 

That is pretty much the perfect way to put it.

By the way: Personally the AGK part in the title feels much more "off" to me. I had to read through half the thread to even know what that acronym is supposed to stand for. If you're going to rebrand it anyways why don't you go for a more descriptive title, while you are at it?

That's just my opinion, though.

 

While I think I understand your position on this policy (correct me if I'm wrong, but 1 the right to name your own product, and 2 the tool kit is in-fact Unity only, so it's more descriptive with that name) there are 2 immediate things that come to mind, 1 legal, the other is probably more dear to Unity's position.

First, legally, you'd probably be incensed at the legal outcome of the Lindows debacle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_v._Lindows) not only can you argue a word only trade mark, but you can win phonics cases if you have enough money. The world is a sick place for trade marks, patents, et al... if you're in the US, you'll be lucky if no patent troll tries to track you down and extort some money for some or all of your kit. Sad but true.

The second, is, well public perception (brand if you will). By using the word Unity, particularly in the Unity asset store, you have an implied relationship. In other words, people (not necessarily the well informed, if oft jaded members of the forums, but some of the other hundreds of thousands of indie devs around the world), will, no doubt treat any asset in the store with the word Unity as coming from, well, Unity. In the Unity team's defense, there are enough angry posters, customers, et al. pounding every Unity in-box and other communication means for any sane person to want to get blamed for something they didn't do. And in your defense, having your hard work accredited to Unity isn't ideal either.

Cheers,

Galen

 

I think galent sums it up the fairly well. I am personally glad they are doing something about it, it is obvious you and others are wanting to use their name to promote sales. This creates confusion for the end user putting Unity in a tough situation when they are uneducated and unhappy.

Don't tell me you can't change your products name because it NEEDS Unity in it. Just make it EasyAGK or something else and stop making a big deal out of this. It is amazing how you will complain about them putting you down and treating you unfair when they are trying to protect themselves. Instead you should be happy that they have developed a community based store that ALLOWS developers like you (indie) to sell tools and other items. Out of all the other engines I've used, they are the most community driven and active. Cut the guys some slack.

-Dane