Anton Sinelnikov isn't a developer you're likely to have heard of before, although a quick glance at his portfolio would reveal a list of overly familiar-sounding titles.
Sinelnikov is responsible for games like Plant vs Zombie (can you see what he did there?), Angry Ninja Birds (because it's not enough for a bird to be just angry anymore) and Temple Jump (where others run, Silelnikov jumps); all of them cheap and obvious imitations of popular iOS titles.
Apple, in a move to discourage such blatant copying, has taken the first steps towards protecting the developers of the original games, by taking down a huge portion of Silelnikov's portfolio from the App Store.
It is an interesting development, but many will consider it an insufficient fix for a significant problem. Kind of like sticking a plaster on a broken leg.
There are still many developers that rely heavily on the creativity of other studios, and whilst Apple has indicated their willingness to engage the clone army, they are a long way from resolving anything in what remains a very murky area.
The issue was highlighted in a report by The Guardian, which also pointed to developers Top Best Adult Entertainment as repeat offenders. At this time their portfolio of titles remains unaffected, prompting fears that Apple are not sufficiently committed to the cause.
Recently, we reported that indie developer NimbleBit published an open letter to Zynga, in which they pointed out a series of significant similarities between their title Tiny Tower, and Zynga's recent offering, Dream Heights.
The proof of Apple's convictions will be tested when it comes to dealing with larger companies, like the aforementioned Zynga. Whilst it is easy to take down small developers, such as Silelnikov, it remains to be seen just how serious Apple are about this issue, as a comprehensive purge of cloned titles from the App Store would almost certainly bring them into conflict with some major publishers.
If their new stance is indicative of a policy shift then there are sure to be many more titles disappearing from the App Store in the very near future. The worry is that Apple will simply tackle the small time offenders, such as Silelnikov, and leave the larger publishers alone for fear of risking a real fight. But doing so would surely set a dangerous precedent that many companies would undoubtedly exploit.
At this time it is still hard to gauge the strength of Apple's resolve. Let's just hope that they don't focus only on the independent developers who copy major titles, because it's obvious that this problem is a two-way street; Rovio aren't the only developers that needs protection from the clone army, Apple need to look after the NimbleBits of this world too.