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My company is about to roll out our first public beta of our iPhone app. The product will be ready in the next week, and we have a couple hundred beta users lined up. We're a bit behind on the actual method of distribution, however. We originally planned to use Enterprise Distribution to get the product out there.

We have yet to apply for a DUNS number, so that should take another couple weeks if we did that immediately. But this issue aside, can anyone who has done this comment on whether there is actually any danger of backlash from Apple for violating the terms of the Enterprise agreement? We're not selling anything, and we're not making any money - we just want to circumvent the 100 device limit and the necessity of collecting UIDs before people test.

James
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I would imagine that were Apple to find out that you were not obeying the terms of your Enterprise agreement, they could very well take whatever steps they have designated in that agreement, just because they don't put their licenses out there to be broken. I believe that includes termination of your Enterprise agreement. If they feel really incensed, they could also terminate or fail to accept any other agreements that you have with Apple, such as your ability to participate in their developer program, or post an app for sale on their store. But this is my opinion and not legal advice, for which I'd recommend a lawyer. There's also the possibility of attempting to contact Apple and negotiate new terms to the agreement. But if you're determined to violate the terms of your agreement, I don't think that an answer from the stackoverflow community would really be an adequate assessment of your risks to both your development and your ability to sell any future product through Apple's app store.

Owen Hartnett
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  • I have to agree here, using the enterprise program to distribute outside of your firm is a clear breach of the rules, and will put you at risk of getting into hot water with Apple. It could be seen as an attempt to circumvent the App Store, and effectively enable side loading. – WDUK Nov 21 '12 at 23:49