Here's what developer Lawrence Gripper had to say on his blog on the subject of the removal of his BBC News apps from the Windows 8 Store and the Windows Phone Store:
These have been a labor of love for me since the launch of Windows Phone in 2010 and it is with great sadness today that I removed both applications from the store.
I do not wish to comment any further on the matter except to thank the over half a million people who downloaded the application and all those who have supported, tested, rated and emailed over the years.
As we noted when we reviewed the app the use of unlicensed content and BBC branding was always a potential problem area:
It's worth pointing out here that this is not a BBC developed application, as the message at the top of the splash screen will remind you, but one that uses publicly available sources of the BBC's content. That does mean BBC News is in a little bit of a grey area, but while it stays there, it's incredibly popular and useful.
It is not unusual to see unofficial third party apps being withdrawn from app stores, usually under legal pressure from the first party concerned, but this is a high profile example, and it is particularly unfortunate given that there's currently no official BBC News app in either the Windows Store or the Windows Phone Store.
If you've already downloaded the app you will be able to keep using it, but once the removal from the app store has been completed it will no longer be available for download.
A similar situation arose with Igneous Software's BBC Radio Player and BBC Podcast Lounge, with the issue, as developer Richard Castle explained, being around both branding and the way content was used:
It was in the middle of 2012 and their main objection was that I was using the BBC name and logo in the title, which was fair enough. Plus, while they are happy for people to use their APIs, the app cannot solely feature BBC content; it needs to be augmented with content of a similar nature from other providers. The BBC cannot be given undue prominence within the app either.
In the case of Igneous Software the apps were renamed (Radio Lounge UK and Podcast Lounge) and additional content source were added to the app. Both apps continue to be highly ranked in the app store and are on are recommended download list.
Both of these cases offer a salutatory lesson to those building unofficial apps around a third party's content or service. It's easy to see the BBC as a villain, especially given its status as a public broadcaster, but ultimately it is perfectly within its rights to impose usage conditions on any of its content feeds or APIs and is understandably wary of consumers being confused about what is, or is not, an official app.