Motorola is cracking down on a leaked Android 2.2 (Froyo) update for its Droid X smartphone by sending cease and desist letters to sites like MyDroidWorld for hosting the unauthorized software.
“The [MyDroidWorld] URL contains software which we have confirmed as copyrighted. These exclusive rights are being violated by material available upon your site,” Motorola rep Richard Rushing claimed in an official letter to MDW.
“I have a good faith belief that the use of this material in such a fashion is not authorized by the copyright holder, the copyright holder’s agent, or the law…I hereby request that you remove or disable access to this material as it appears on your service in as expedient a fashion as possible.”
Meanwhile, David Ruddock of Android Police noted that Motorola’s behavior was little better than Apple’s when it came to “unintended dissemination” of intellectual property.
“Motorola is using the fact that the Droid X’s keyboard is copyrighted software to make a legal argument that the download package as a whole needs to be removed from the website in question. This is well-within their rights as a copyright holder, though it doesn’t exactly make them seem friendly,” wrote Ruddock.
“[But] really, it’s hard to say if Motorola is just blowing smoke, as C&D letters are pretty effective at scaring their recipients with the possibility of litigation. Continued infringement by a noteworthy website would be the only way to see how far Moto’s willing to go on this one – but frankly, I don’t see this fight elevating beyond scary words.”
