The NSW Government agency RailCorp has threatened a Sydney software developer with legal action after he created an iPhone application allowing users to view train and ferry timetable information and updates.
Alvin Singh, software developer for News Digital Media, published the Transit Sydney application on the iTunes App Store, which has been selling for $2.49 a copy.
But RailCorp has interrupted the app's 20-sales-a-day by threatening legal action based on copyright laws.
Singh originally planned to expand the application to offer bus timetables, planning tools and updates on service interruptions before he received the warnings.
"I've asked them to send me a formal written cease and desist notice before I take it further," he told The Age.
"The argument they've said is we are in the planning stages of getting our own application up there, but going by the Government's past performances I don't think we'll see it any time soon."
But since he did not have the funds available for a lengthy legal battle, he says it is likely that he will remove the application from the App Store. RailCorp has not commented on whether it is developing a similar iPhone application of its own.
"RailCorp's primary concern is that our customers receive accurate, up-to-date timetable information," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"This includes details of service interruptions, special event services, track work and other changes. Third-party RailCorp timetable applications may contain inaccuracies and have the potential to mislead our customers."
Singh says he was not seeking to make any profit from the application, and has even offered the source code to RailCorp if they want to develop an application of their own.
"It's in the public interest for them to have this out there, and the argument they gave me was they plan to release their own one, but they've had two years to do it and they're a corporation; they've got lots of people to do it, and I did it over a few weeks in the December break."
Internet giant Google already provides timetable information for Adelaide and Perth public transport services, but has not been given the rights for other capital cities.
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Companies have gotten smarter over the years, and one thing they have learned is how to "spin". One of the best methods of spinning (no doubt spread like wildfire through the marketting and promotional circles as a result of how well it seems to work), is the notion that companies protest 3rd parties using their information because it MIGHT give their customers innacurate information... and they are soooooo concerned that their customers get the right information.
Why is it, that a company makes decisions like this on behalf of its customers? Isn't it the right of a customer to accept that the information they get may be innacurate as long as it is marked as such? And if the company hasn't pulled its finger out and actually PROVIDED the accurate information, how can they claim their customers are their top priority when a SINGLE individual can do what a LARGE corporation cannot?!?!?
So stop using this as an excuse to say "Hey! Your making us look bad" and actually do something about it. Not only should you provide your own software because YOU WANT YOUR CUSTOMERS TO HAVE ACCURATE INFORMATION, but your software should stand out because it provides more benefits and features than any 3rd party product could.
You should commend this person and ensure that the information he gets is accurate but appropriately labelled, not get him to stop because your too lazy to do better!