Google hits Android ROM modder with a cease-and-desist letter
By Nilay Patel 
posted September 24th 2009 10:26PM
posted September 24th 2009 10:26PM
[Via Android and Me]
posted September 24th 2009 10:26PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Cyanogen is the biz!!! i hope this doesnt really affect his awesome work. He's the reason I android is the BEST!
Title should read "Google hits Android ROM modder with a cease-and-desist letter in a fit of jealous nerd-rage"
truth.
Damn straight.
Talk about an efficient way to kill off any community and good will that had grown around this platform.
What's even more amusing is the fact that apple's endured far worse, and has done far little in response with the iPhone OS. I'm usually one of the first to get irritated at apple, but this is an amusing reversal of the norm...
This day will be written in history as the day Google turned... EVIL!!!!!
You know, this is the reason I went G1/Android over iPhone... because Android is open. If Google persists, I will just go over to the iPhone... at least Apple is consist... and the hardware is nicer.
I bought the G1 for the dream of an open handset...
No way they should allow somebody to make their product better and more popular...
Instead of cease and desist, maybe they should hire him.
You summed it up perfectly.
CyanogenMOD is what Google should have pushed out the door on day one. I love my G1, but to be honest - it was unusable until Cyanogen came out. Finally I have a phone that is responsive and works and holds more than 72mb of apps.
google and apple should have a fruit laden orgy.
Sounds like either a prank or a newbie lawyer coming to terms the lack of testosterone in his career path. Either way, this is very un-Google like...
Message to Google:
Pull your heads out of yer arses. You're trying to compete with Microsoft, Apple, ect. You can't do that by acting the same as them!
Not totally unlike Google. Have seen this before from them, I remember a great gps tracking program a few years back which used Google Maps (way before latitude). They are still a big corporation now remember . . .
You see, this is exactly why Android sucks. Its touted as being so damn open...oh, EXCEPT these parts with our name on it...you can't touch to those! I mean, either its totally open source and GPL'd or it's all closed. One or the other. Who does Google think they are...Microsoft or something?
There's nothing wrong with having an open system that has some closed components. Like it or not there are businesses out there and they can't let some of their work be open sourced for many reasons. From security to protecting trade secrets. And technically yes, Google is right about this. This Android mod doesn't have the actual right to redistribute Google's applications. There's nothing stopping them from doing their own open source implementations anyway so they might as well.
many closed source applications have been made redistributable under certain terms (like acrobat reader, quicktime, etc)... i think google needs to reevaluate its approach to the matter.
Don't user technically have a right to have the google apps anyways? Every android device comes with them. This is stupid. Me downloading a cyanogen rom is not stealing apps. This is not the intention of copyright laws. I own a license to use those apps. I should be able to download them from where ever I want. This is fair use.
"either its totally open source and GPL'd or it's all closed"
False dichotomy. There's nothing in the GPL that is incompatible with distribution with non-derivative works that are not open source. Further more, the GPL does nothing for trademark claims, e.g. derivative works of Firefox cannot use the Firefox branding.
Ummm... Microsoft is pretty darn open with their mobile devices. Just ask any of the numerous people running two versions ahead of the official release (6.5.1) for free.
In my mind Google is the only competitor I'd consider if I moved away from WinMo... at least, unless this kind of news becomes a regular thing and Google goes all Apple on everyone (shudder).
Seriously, Google. If they are able to use this software at all, they probably bought your damn device already! Who cares if they mess with it after that.
Why compare Google to Microsoft? Microsoft has never tried to shut down the WinMo ROM modding community.
"Who does Google think they are...Microsoft or something?"
Heh. Like Santy said I'll take Microsoft's policy on ROMs over Google's any day. My now ancient (2+ year old) phone runs WM 6.5.1no problem, with the latest 2D version of HTC Manila thrown in the mix.
@SoulinEther
The problem is, Google charge HTC and other handset manufacturers a fee to allow distribution of the applications. There are also licensing terms and conditions attached to the distribution.
Google can't let Cyanogen distribute the apps without using the same mechanism. It's the copyright protection stuff again.
I run Cyanogen's rom (4.1.11.1) and aside from a couple of bugs it's the best rom I've run, especially the ability to flip back and forth between other rom versions.
Gotta let this slide or Android will never take off!
PLEASE SING THIS PETITION telling google to leave cyanogen alone
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/cyanmod/#signpetition
I love cyanogen, best mod at this point imo.
This is very ungooglelike of google, guess the whole "opensource" part isn't so open.
I think you're misunderstanding. They have no problem whatsoever with you modding the OS, and it IS open source. The problem is that Cyanogen is redistributing applications that Google sells.
Now I can see why that would be confusing to the end user, because you don't pay for Google Maps, GMail, etc., but the phone companies do. Any carrier who wants to sell an Android phone has the option of buying the "with Google" branding, which includes those Google apps. But with CyanogenMod, it no longer matters whether the Android phone is a "with Google" phone, which directly affects Google's ability to profit. Google is by no means a money hungry corporation, but they gotta make money somehow, and they need to protect those ways that they do make money. I'm sure they're feeling a lot of pressure from investors when carriers ask the question "why should I pay for Google branding when users can just get the same experience on their own?"
this is bs, cuz how else are we supposed to get a good version of gmail, youtube, or maps. we could get some jank versions ported/hacked over, but with an experimental or less than full speed rom, the least we can have is these apps, cmon google ur better than this, or so i once thought.
Before this turning into another sensational headlines with sensational flames, the modder is hit with the C&D Letter because he is distributing the closed-source parts of the Google's software without permission, which pretty much means that he is distributing warez.
Rather than making it sound like it's an all-or-nothing deal, I'm quite sure the modder can resolve the issue simply by *not* packing Google's software along with the mod, which is a fair enough middle finger to getting a C&D Letter.
The problem is that Google doesn't provide their built in apps on the Market, so if he didn't package them in, then there would be no way to get the Gmail, Calendar, Youtube, Google Talk, among other apps. Hell I don't even know if they'd allow him to even keep stuff like the Alarm Clock and Browser. The only built in app they have on the Market is the newest Google Maps, but thats only because they didn't want to wait till Cupcake update had come out.
He could release a rom builder tool that would strip those apps out of one rom and add them to another as long as he's not distributing the copyrighted works themselves.
Oh come on. Gmail? Google Maps? They don't want this guy distributing that? Aren't those free downloads that would be included in the stock ROM?
You know what people include with WinMo roms? Microsoft Office! Why can they do that while it's "totally justifiable" for Google to send a CD letter?
There's always some anal-retentive legal snob that comes in and defends the giant company squashing the little guy. "Let's not get worked up here, it's totally legal and justifiable, guys!" A lot of things that are legal are useless and stupid and if you don't get worked up over it nothing changes.
Those are core apps. WIthout them, the rom is a joke. Google needs to fix this, fast. This is what gives them a competitive edge over iPhone... the fact that they allow users to "own" their hardware, and do with it what they want. If they castrate those that make the cutting-edge roms, the hardware is useless.
I'm currently running this (actually the 4.1.11.1 experemental) and it's fantastic.
I don't know why Google would want to shut something like this down, especially since the phones shipped with those apps anyway, this is just an enhancement on the user experience...
interesting to see how this plays out, I'm on the Cyanogen side for sure
Those apps are licensed for google branded phones. He is only releasing them on the same phones, so how is this a licensing issue?
I suppose GMail is arguable, but Maps is available on the Market. Doesn't really make any sense..?
Karma's a bitch, eh?
Not even Apple sent out a C&D to the iPhone Dev Team. Wow.
Thats because they only distrubute patches. If they packaged complete images of iphoneOS it would be a totally different story.
i just upgraded to this over the weekend, and I really love it. It's a fantastic ROM that really has made me happy I bought a G1. I've had absolutely no slow-down issues since I used it!
That being said, I'm sure he can simply not include the google apps with his ROM, and continue on with his development. I see where Google is coming from, and hope that Cyanogen can continue after this little hiccup.
"Don't be evil" my ass.
That's the best response here.
Naw, man.
Google changed their "slogan" years ago.
It's now: "Don't be evil, unless required to maintain a profitable business."
how do you sing a petition?
why doesn't he just omit those apps from the rom and include instructions to roll it yourself?
Simply amazing. Not even Microsoft does this to its Windows Mobile ROM modders. Check out the XDA Developers forum where you'll find literally dozens of Windows Mobile ROMs that have all sorts of Microsoft software included.
wow... google getting a little jealouse there... and pissed :)
but thats always good hehe, means they didnt make it smart enough, and it will increase their security next time.
Aha... I was WAITING for someone to finally bring up the "don't be evil" phrase and overdo it, thus proving that nobody really knows what it means or doesn't care or just wants to use it when it suits them.
You were waiting for that? Like, waiting so hard you had to use caps lock?
I usually only wait for cool things.
Well, one must have really low expectations while waiting for anything worthwhile on engadget.
Open platform my ass. Get a proper Linux platform. Even MS don't do this in regards to ROM cookers.