Concern: App name duplication and brand confusion in Shopify App Store

[Jahangir]

Hi,
I wanted to raise a concern and also seek guidance from the community and Shopify team regarding app naming and brand protection in the Shopify App Store.

We’ve been building our app MultiVariants – Bulk Order since September 2020. Over the years, it has grown into a widely used solution for bulk ordering and B2B workflows, serving thousands of merchants globally.

Recently, we noticed another app published on the Shopify App Store changed their app name and using the exact same app name — including our brand name “MultiVariants.”

This raised a few concerns for us:

• It creates clear confusion for merchants when searching or installing apps

• It impacts brand identity and trust that has been built over years

• It raises questions about how app naming uniqueness is enforced

To clarify — this is not about similar keywords like “bulk order” (which are generic), but the direct reuse of an existing brand name within the same category.

We’ve already reported this to Shopify through Partner Support, but I also wanted to ask here:

Questions for the community / Shopify team:

1. How does Shopify currently handle app name conflicts or brand duplication?

2. Are there any best practices or protections for developers to secure their app names?

3. Has anyone else experienced similar issues? How was it resolved?

I believe maintaining a fair and trustworthy ecosystem is important for both developers and merchants, and clear guidelines around naming can help avoid confusion.

Happy to provide more context if needed.

Thanks in advance,
Jahangir Alam
Founder, MultiVariants

Special tag @Liam-Shopify

Adding two screenshot for reference:

[sshaw]

The irony here is that 3 or so years ago Shopify forced 100s of apps to change their name:

Update your app name to something unique. Using a generic descriptor as an app name doesn’t comply with our requirements. Ensure you also update your app’s name in the Partner Dashboard. The app name can’t be a generic description of your app’s functionality, such as “Banner Slider.” Your app name should be short and distinct. See this screenshot for additional details.