> Rather than turning every app submission into a legal dispute I suspect it's easier for them just to say "don't use our trademarks without permission".

Sure, it's definitely "easier." But given all of the bad press they've been getting about how they treat developers on the App Store, maybe it's time for them to stop just doing what's easier for them and start sometimes doing what's better for developers. Now this can't come from individual reviewers, so I don't fault the reviewer for enforcing their policy. I fault their policy for having limited nuance.

Easier for them, intolerable for everyone else.

Why not automatically direct developers to an auto-escalation form when something small like this gets violated.

The form could first strongly discourage the use of trademarks.

But then provide fields for escalating the user of the trademark, based on the developers description of why the trademark is required to describe basic functionality of their app.

Auto-escalation options seem like a good thing for an iron gatekeeper to be providing if they want to reduce frustration with the shadow they are casting over techdom.