Apple's App Store has a copyright problem

Brian Raub, who runs the website Lakelubbers.com, is accusing Apple of sitting on its hands when he lodged a complaint about a series of apps that stole the website's content, according to The Roanoke Times.

Raub employees a team of three editors and 20 freelancers who produce content about lake vacation spots across America, publishing it on the website. The content is original and the company earns money through advertising.

Raub was tipped off that a set of paid-for apps were stealing his content and repackaging it, earning money off advertising without giving Lacklubbers.com credit for the work. He informed Apple and, after much discussion, the company removed the 11 offending apps.

The app company, which goes unnamed, then made more apps - all of which are paid-for - and Raub says Apple is unwilling to help this time.

9to5Mac points out that this problem - apps scraping the content of websites - is not unique to Lakelubbers.com. Search the App Store for "9to5Mac" and there are a series of apps, such as iNews, app-news.de, and Rumorville, that scrape the website's content.

The App Store does have guidelines that prohibit using copyrighted content, but if Apple is unwilling to enforce them then it does business owners, such as Raub, little good.

Business Insider has reached out to Apple to ask about Raub's claim. We will update the post when we hear back.