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Or Arbel’s simple message app Yo, which so far received $1.5 million in funding, is threatened by a copycat called Yolo, which founder Arbel says is “a complete fake copy of our Yo app.”
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Arbel has filed a complaint with Apple, asking it to remove Yolo from the App Store, since it allegedly infringes on Arbel’s copyright and trademark.
Yolo’s founder says his app (it lets users send times) is “more of a game and competition, ” and the only thing the two apps have in common is the user interface (which is practically identical).
Yo, which had its doubters, has become a hit — with some saying it had what it takes to become a $1 billion platform.
Yo was created by Or Arbel in eight hours, and launched on April Fools Day 2014 for Android and iOS. A former chief technology officer of the stock trading platform Stox, Arbel quit his job and has since been working on the app full time. The $1 million investment came from a group of investors led by Moshe Hogeg, CEO of Mobli, who had originally asked Arbel to design a single-button app to call his assistant. In July 2014, the app was also released for Windows Phone.
Yolo’s app download page says: Play it at a party, or just annoy your friends! The YOLO app will be a hilarious addition to your phone! HAVE FUN!
