Apple has rejected the Eucalyptus e-book reader application, which allows users to download novels from the library of Project Gutenberg, which holds copyrights to thousands of classic titles, the Kama Sutra among them.
Apple told Eucalyptus developer James Montgomerie that allowing access to the Kama Sutra violated its software terms and conditions.
Montgomerie has argued that users must search through Eucalyptus, find the Kama Sutra and then download the book to their phones, a process that is currently allowed under other iPhone applications, including Amazon's Kindle app.
Apple's App Store has received scrutiny as of late for its questionable approval process, most blaming the company's sometimes laughable rejection claims on an overloaded staff.
The company was forced to apologised to angry parents after it unwittingly approved an app that allowed users to "shake" a virtual baby to death.
Apple also received scorn after banning the Nine Inch Nails album 'Downward Spiral' due to excessive profanity, which it later repealed.
Montgomerie said he has resubmitted Eucalyptus, now with software that bans users from downloading the Kama Sutra, in hopes of approval.
In a blog post, the developer wrote: "I suspect that no one at Apple knows how genuinely torturous the app store approval process is for developers personally after a rejection.
"When they hold the key to the only distribution pipe for something you've spent a lot of your time on - in my case a year - something you're hoping could provide you with a livelihood - and polite email enquiries are not replied to - not even with an autoresponder, it is extremely frustrating."
Developers are collectively holding their breath until Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in early June, where the company is expected to introduce more efficient App Store regulations.
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