---
title: "Guideline 5.2 Intellectual Property Rejection: Fixes"
canonical: "https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-5-2-intellectual-property"
description: "Rejected under App Store Guideline 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.2.3 or 5.2.5? Apple's exact messages, the proof of rights it accepts, and what to rename or remove."
kind: "reference-library/app-review"
published: "2026-10-09"
lastUpdated: "2026-10-09"
verifiedAgainst: "Apple's App Review Guidelines (last updated June 8, 2026), App Review help on complete submissions, Apple's App Store marketing and trademark guidelines, Apple's IP dispute forms, Apple's 2025 Transparency Report, and rejection messages posted on Apple Developer Forums, on Oct 9, 2026"
author: "Ahmed Gagan (https://asoitis.com/about)"
---

# Guideline 5.2 Intellectual Property: brands, third-party content, and Apple's own trademarks

> Guideline 5.2 rejects apps that use material without permission: third-party trademarks or content (5.2.1), services whose terms don't allow your use (5.2.2), downloading media from sources like YouTube (5.2.3), and Apple's own trademarks, emoji or product look (5.2.5). Fix it by attaching proof of rights in App Review Information, or by removing or renaming what Apple flagged.

The legal rejection for content you don't own: another company's brand, a third-party service you're not cleared to use, media downloading, or Apple's own names and images.

> According to ASOitis, Guideline 5.2.1 covers who submits an app, not only what's inside it: Apple has rejected an app because the seller name didn't match the brand in the app, and told the developer to resubmit through the client's own account — so an app built for a client should go live under the client's developer account from day one.

Guideline: [5.2 — Intellectual Property](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#intellectual-property) (5. Legal; Apple text last updated June 8, 2026)

## Key facts

- **Sub-rules:** 5 — 5.2.1 to 5.2.5
- **Legal rejections, 2025:** 495,673 — Second only to Performance
- **Proof Apple accepts:** Documents — Contracts, emails, screenshots, video, licences
- **Text changed since 2024:** No — 5.2.4 was only split into (a) and (b)

## The five parts of Guideline 5.2

> Make sure your app only includes content that you created or that you have a license to use. Your app may be removed if you've stepped over the line and used content without permission.
>
> — [App Store Review Guidelines, 5.2 Intellectual Property](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#intellectual-property)

**Guideline 5.2 sub-rules and typical indie triggers**

| Rule | What it covers | Typical trigger |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 5.2.1 Generally | Third-party trademarks, copyrighted works and patented ideas; who submits the app | A brand, character or device maker named in the app or metadata; a seller name that doesn't match the brand |
| 5.2.2 Third-Party Sites/Services | Using or displaying content from a service whose terms don't permit it | Reposting to Instagram, scraping an API, wrapping someone else's content |
| 5.2.3 Audio/Video Downloading | Saving, converting or downloading media from third-party sources | YouTube or SoundCloud downloaders; unlicensed streams |
| 5.2.4 Apple Endorsements | Implying Apple supplies or endorses your app | “Apple-approved”, a fake Editor's Choice badge |
| 5.2.5 Apple Products | Apple's names, product look, emoji, Music previews, Activity rings | An iPhone drawn in the icon; “iMessage” used the wrong way; Apple emoji in stickers |

Section 5 is Legal, and it's the second most-cited section in Apple's [2025 Transparency Report](https://www.apple.com/legal/app-store/transparency/2025/): 495,673 rejections, behind only Performance. Two neighbouring rules overlap with 5.2 — [Guideline 4.1](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-4-1-copycats) for copying another app's name, icon or design, and [Guideline 2.3.7](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-2-3-accurate-metadata) for trademarked terms in keywords.

## 5.2.1: someone else's brand or content

5.2.1 says “don't use protected third-party material such as trademarks, copyrighted works, or patented ideas in your app without permission.” Apps that control hardware or connect to a named product get this often. An April 2024 rejection, [posted on Apple's forums](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/749400):

> Your app includes content or features from GarFi, or is marketed to control external hardware from GarFi, without the necessary authorization. … To resolve this issue, please attach documentary evidence in the App Review Information section in App Store Connect. Once we have reviewed your documentation and confirmed its validity, we will proceed with the review of your app. Alternatively, please remove the third-party content from your app and its metadata.
>
> — [App Review rejection under 5.2.1, posted on Apple Developer Forums](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/749400)

That's the choice for every 5.2 rejection: prove you have the rights, or take the material out. Apple's [App Review help](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-review/before-submitting-for-review/complete-review) lists what counts as proof for 4.1, 5.2.1 and 5.2.3 cases — “trademark or rights documentation, such as a signed contract, electronic communication (emails, messaging-service screenshots), video recordings, or licensing documents” — and asks you to attach it before you submit.

## 5.2.1: whose account the app is published under

The last sentence of 5.2.1 catches agencies and freelancers: “Apps should be submitted by the person or legal entity that owns or has licensed the intellectual property and other relevant rights.” In October 2024 a developer [got this](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/767624):

> The seller and company names associated with your app do not reflect the name "Paycall" in the app or its metadata, as required by Guideline 5.2.1 of the App Review Guidelines. To resolve this issue, your app must be published under a seller name and company name that reflects the Paycall name. If you have developed this app on behalf of a client, you may resubmit the app through their account, if they have one.
>
> — [App Review rejection under 5.2.1, posted on Apple Developer Forums](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/767624)

If you're paying someone to build your app, it should be submitted from your own Apple Developer account, under your company name. That's how our [App Studio](https://asoitis.com/ios-app-development) ships client apps: built for you, published under your account.

## 5.2.2 and 5.2.3: other services and media

5.2.2 asks that if your app uses or displays content from a third-party service, you “ensure that you are specifically permitted to do so under the service's terms of use. Authorization must be provided upon request.” A repost tool learned this in [August 2020](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/657506): “your app allows users to upload photos or videos to third-party services that do not support this functionality… please remove any features or functionality that allow users to alter third-party social media accounts.”

5.2.3 is blunter: no saving, converting or downloading media “from third-party sources (e.g. Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, etc.) without explicit authorization from those sources.” It also flags streaming that merely looks unlicensed. An [April 2022 rejection](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/703797) for “potentially unauthorized access to third-party audio or video streaming” hit an app that streamed only its creator's own voice recordings. The fix was documentary evidence: a signed statement from the rights holder.

> **Your own content can still need paperwork.** If your app streams or shows content that looks like it could be someone else's — music, video, sports, TV — attach a short signed statement of who owns it and that you're authorized, before you submit. It turns a legal back-and-forth into a quick approval.

## 5.2.5: Apple's own names, devices and emoji

**Two 5.2.5 rejections and how they were fixed**

| What Apple flagged | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| “Apple trademark, iPhone, imagery - or likeness - in the app icon” ([Jan 2022](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/698492)) | Redraw the icon without a device that looks like an iPhone |
| “iMessage in the app name or subtitle in an inappropriate manner” ([Mar 2020](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/129822)) | The developer changed the subtitle from “emojis for iMessage” to “stickers for iMessage” and was approved |

Apple's [App Store marketing guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/marketing/guidelines/) set the naming rule: use Apple product names “in a referential phrase to indicate that your app is compatible with these products. For example, say app name for iPhone or app name for iPad… Don't say iPhone app name.” They also say “Apple Vision Pro” can't be in your app name at all, only in the description.

- **Apple emoji.** 5.2.5: apps and extensions, “including third-party keyboards and Sticker packs, may not include Apple emoji.”
- **Device images.** Apple's marketing guidelines say to use Apple product images “as is” — no added reflections, cropping, tilting or icons made from a product image.
- **Look-alikes.** No app that's “confusingly similar” to an Apple product, interface or app such as the App Store or Messages.
- **Apple Music previews** can't be used as background music for their entertainment value.

> **The Review Check ($49).** Before you submit, we check your name, subtitle, icon, screenshots and in-app content for brand and trademark risks under 5.2, 4.1 and 2.3 — $49, two business days. https://asoitis.com/checkout/start?plan=review

## Fixing a 5.2 rejection and replying

1. **Identify the exact material** — The message names the brand, service or Apple mark. Search your app, metadata, screenshots, icon and keyword field for every appearance of it.
2. **Decide: prove or remove** — If you have rights, gather the contract, licence or written permission. If you don't, remove the material everywhere — Apple asks for both “your app and its metadata”.
3. **Attach evidence in App Review Information** — Apple reviews documentation before continuing; legal reviews can take longer, so send it complete the first time.
4. **Fix the account if the name is wrong** — If the seller name doesn't match the brand, resubmit from the brand owner's account or ask Developer Support to update the company name.
5. **Upload a new build if the app changed** — Icon and in-app content need a new build; name, subtitle and keyword changes are metadata on the rejected version.

**Reply in App Store Connect — Guideline 5.2**

```text
Hello App Review team,

Thank you for the feedback on Guideline 5.2.[1/2/3/5].

[If you have the rights]
We are authorized to use [brand/content] in the app. A [signed licence /
written permission from [owner], dated [date]] is attached in App Review
Information.

[If you removed it]
We removed [brand/content] from the app (build [number]), the app name,
subtitle, keywords, description and screenshots.

Thank you,
[Name]
```

## If someone else uses your brand

5.2 works in your favour too. Apple's [App Store dispute forms](https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/dispute-forms/app-store/) include an App Store Content Dispute, for apps that violate your intellectual property, and an App Name Dispute, if an app is “preventing you from using your trademark as an app name.” Apple says it contacts the other developer and asks them to work with you directly. It doesn't investigate claims about branded terms used as Search Ads keywords.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does Guideline 5.2.1 mean?

It bans using third-party trademarks, copyrighted works or patented ideas without permission, and says apps should be submitted by the person or company that owns or licensed the rights. Apple asks for documentary evidence of rights, or removal of the material from the app and metadata.

### What documentation does Apple accept as proof of rights?

Apple's App Review help lists trademark or rights documentation such as a signed contract, electronic communication like emails or messaging screenshots, video recordings, or licensing documents. Attach it in the App Review Information section in App Store Connect.

### Can I use “iPhone” in my app name?

Only as a referential phrase, like “App Name for iPhone”. Apple's marketing guidelines say not to put the product name first, as in “iPhone App Name”, and that “Apple Vision Pro” can't appear in the app name at all.

### Can my app download videos from YouTube?

Not without explicit authorization from the source. Guideline 5.2.3 bans saving, converting or downloading media from third-party sources such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo or Apple Music without permission.

### Can a developer publish my app under their own account?

Apple expects apps to be submitted by whoever owns the rights. It has rejected apps whose seller name didn't match the brand and told the developer to resubmit through the client's account, so publish under your own Apple Developer account.

## Sources

1. [App Store Review Guidelines — 5.2 Intellectual Property](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#intellectual-property) — Apple Developer
2. [Provide information for a complete review](https://developer.apple.com/help/app-review/before-submitting-for-review/complete-review) — App Review Help
3. [App Store marketing guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/marketing/guidelines/) — Apple Developer
4. [Intellectual property dispute forms — App Store](https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/dispute-forms/app-store/) — Apple Legal
5. [App Store Transparency Report 2025](https://www.apple.com/legal/app-store/transparency/2025/) — Apple
6. [Forum: 5.2.1 rejection for third-party hardware branding](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/749400) — Apple Developer Forums
7. [Forum: 5.2.1 rejection for seller name mismatch](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/767624) — Apple Developer Forums
8. [Forum: 5.2.5 rejection for iMessage in the subtitle](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/129822) — Apple Developer Forums

## Related

- [Guideline 4.1: Copycats](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-4-1-copycats) — Another app's name, icon or design — the design-side twin of 5.2.
- [Guideline 2.3: Accurate Metadata](https://asoitis.com/app-review/guideline-2-3-accurate-metadata) — Trademarked terms and competitor names in your keywords.
- [App Studio — iOS app development](https://asoitis.com/ios-app-development) — Client apps built for you and published under your own account.
- [The Review Check — $49](https://asoitis.com/fixes) — Brand and trademark risks checked before you submit.
- [All app review fixes](https://asoitis.com/app-review)


## Have it done for you

**The Review Check — $49 one-time.** Send us your listing and TestFlight build. We flag every brand, service and Apple trademark App Review could question, and tell you what to document, rename or remove.

- Buy: https://asoitis.com/checkout/start?plan=review
- 15-minute founder call: https://cal.com/ahmedgagan/asoitis-chat

## About ASOitis

ASOitis is a founder-run App Store Optimization (ASO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) agency for indie iOS apps. iOS only; organic ASO + GEO + funnel work, implemented for you. Reference library: https://asoitis.com/app-review, https://asoitis.com/reviews, https://asoitis.com/compare, https://asoitis.com/glossary, https://asoitis.com/aso