Android Mod Community Routes Around Google's Lawyers

Following up on my previous rant it looks like the community's plan to route around the Google legal team's attempt to sabotage any good will Android had gained in the community has come to fruition.

Cyanogens first post legal scuffle release is now out:

[ROM] CyanogenMod - Keeping You Legal For Less (BETA) [UPDATED 10/4 - v4.1.99] - xda-developers

They came up with a very smart solution. In short, instead of shipping the proprietary bits in the ROM that got Google all grumpy, the installer now rips those bits from the existing ROM on your phone (the binaries you legally own since you bought your phone) and rolls them into the community modded ROM before it installs it on your phone.

The Android devices we own come with many files that can't be redistributed legally, and as you all probably know, I can no longer include these with my ROMs. So, in order to get up and running, you'll need a compatible device with a compatible ROM. Please visit the appropriate site below, read and agree to the license agreement, and download the "1.6 Recovery Image" for your device. You'll need to flash this before installing my ROM. Note this is NOT the same as what we all think of as a "recovery image", it's just what HTC calls the version you can flash as an update.zip from recovery mode. Optionally, you can download the fastboot version and just fastboot flash the system.img first. You only need to do this the first time, upgrades shouldn't require reflashing. You don't even need to boot it, just flash it, then flash my ROM. After that you can just use CM Updater. The install process backs up your proprietary files and applications and restores them afterwards.

Very smart.

Google Moves to Kill Android Community Right as it is Warming Up

Looks like Google's legal department have gone and decided to screw any good will that the amazing Android development team has managed to earn with the community that has been organically forming around their new mobile OS. This seriously could be the moment where what was looking to be the best tech story of the next 5 years sputters and dies due to lack of a thriving community built around it.

If anyone within Google has any sense they'll pull back their attack dogs and do it fast.

CyanogenMod in trouble? – Android and Me

[20:03] cyanogen> google just cease and desisted me
[20:15] cyanogen> cyanogenmod is probably going to be dead
[20:16] cyanogen> i’m opening a dialogue with them
[20:20] cyanogen> no they are talking specifically about the closed-source google apps
[20:20] cyanogen> and how i am not licensed to distribute them
[20:20] cyanogen> my argument is that i only develop for google-experience devices which are already licensed for these apps
[20:20] cyanogen> so we’ll see what they say
[20:20] cyanogen> maybe we can work something out
[20:24] cyanogen> maps, market, talk, gmail, youtube

Cyanogen is just a guy working in his free time, without pay to make the best, most widely used community ROM for the G1 available right now. If Google smacks down these community ROMs and makes the Android the exclusive domain of the dry corporate interests, kiss the momentum goodbye.