![]() ![]() That court case led to an appearance on The Daily Show, which in turn caused a ripple effect. “We got sued by a competing fart app, which quite frankly was a golden opportunity to get media coverage,” Comm said. ![]() So when we started publishing that data a number of tech blogs picked up the story.”Īll standard marketing so far, right? But the iFart story took an unusual turn when a competitor created a stink over the phrase “pull my finger.” The number one question they had was ‘how much are you making?’. We also had connections with bloggers who were looking for stories about the App store. “We ran a marketing company, and had large twitter followings and mailing lists to help us seed initial installs. “There were a lot of factors that caused iFart to go viral and get noticed,” Comm said. So just how did Comm get the original app noticed on mainstream TV, and what effect did that have? Don’t expect to be able to drop a stealth bomb using the Apple Watch anytime soon, though - Apple has banned them. Across Apple’s App Store and Google Play, there are now over 1,200 fart apps. “And honestly, the app store was still very new.” “When iFart first launched there were only a few players in the ‘fart niche’,” Comm said. That’s an impressive feat, but iFart on Android is coming to a very different app world. But we sold about 800,000 units straight up in 2008-2010.” “Remember that the first app came out in the early days,” Comm told me. George Clooney even endorsed iFart in an article published by Rolling Stone, and video game industry legend Peter Molyneux chose it as his favorite fart app in an interview with Game Informer.Īnd it made its developer - InfoMedia, headed up by Joel Comm - a warm and satisfying $40,000 across Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2008. iFart made appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and with TODAY’s Kathie Lee & Hoda. Not just above other paid apps: It floated above all other apps. It was so popular, it held the top overall spot on the Apple App Store at the time. There was no word on when a judge might rule on the complaint.Just how big a noise did the original app make? The company claims there are about 75 different flatulence simulation software applications. Joel Conn, founder of Infomedia, said on his own blog that his app is a "cultural phenomenon." iFart also features a "Sneak Attack" function using a timer that emits the sound of flatulence when it goes off, the company says, and can also be used as a prank to an unsuspecting person. The company wants a judge to step in now, before any lawsuit is filed, and allow it to continue to use the phrase.Īccording to InfoMedia's legal filing, its iFart app "boasts a number of unique features including a built-in security system designed to aurally surprise and discourage iPhone theft. In a formal complaint filed in a Denver, Colorado, federal court, however, InfoMedia says the phrase is a common "descriptive" term used in its advertising and cannot be trademarked. It wants $50,000 from Infomedia to settle the dispute and may sue in federal court. ![]() Enter the flatulence sound app, which both companies offer to customers.Īir-o-Matic says its app, "Pull My Finger" has a unique brand identity that its competitor has infringed. Individual "apps" cost a dollar and up, and can be used to get directions, read restaurant reviews and make funny noises. Users can make calls, listen to music, browse the Internet and play games on the devices. The dispute began after the makers of iFart began using phrase "pull my finger" in advertisements for their products.Īir-o-Matic, based in Jacksonville, Florida, and Colorado-based InfoMedia, Inc., both offer a range of competing software applications, or "apps," that subscribers can download into their multitasking cell phones. Now, there's "Pull My Finger" - and next could come the lawsuits.Ī Florida-based company has accused a Colorado competitor in federal court of trademark infringement and unfair business practices over the phrase "Pull My Finger." Then, there was the "iFart" flatulence noise download. ![]() WASHINGTON (CNN) - First came the iPhone. ![]()
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