Publish an app on Google Play Store on behalf of another company

Question

How can I (as a vendor contracted to develop an app for an enterprise) publish an app to the Google Play Store on behalf of an enterprise?

They don't have a Google Play account set up but want the app to appear under their brand in the Google Play Store.

What's the correct technical (and legal) process I should follow to set up their account and give my own company access to publish on their behalf?

Answer 1

The bare minimum requirement that I am aware of is that your company should get a written consent from your client, authorizing your company to use their company's name, logo, brand, etc for the expressed purpose of being displayed in Google Play.

My company had done something similar, we publish branded apps for clients, though our company's name is used as the vendor name. One of those apps got removed because some zealous legal guy in one of our client companies found the app and, unaware of the cooperation between the companies, filed a complaint to Google. The app was reinstated without much fuzz after getting that guy to send another email to Google requesting the app to be reinstated, so it looks like Google doesn't have anything against this (assuming your client doesn't reside in a sanctioned country).

Answer 2

You can give them advance notice by providing legal documents via this link

https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6320428

From the page itself...

The Google Play App Review team accepts advance notice about your upcoming app or store listing publishing event.

We only accept advance notice in the following scenario(s):

You have written documentation proving that you have permission to use a 3rd party's intellectual property in your app or store listing (e.g. Brand names and logos, graphic assets, audio, etc.). You have gambling or casino-style elements in your game, and need to provide your Korean Game Rating and Administrative Committee (GRAC) rating certificate to Google so your game can be distributed in Korea.

Lesson learn by one suspended app. Hope this will help others. If your app suspended for such reason you can also contact them via link in the suspension email.