Copyright infringement is never a word that any of us ever like to hear. Whether is be for the look of a device, how an icon looks, some technology or software that is built into a device or any of a million other things that could lead to a claim and/or lawsuit. The powers that be do a fairly great job at finding things and raising red flags and are quick to send out DMCA complaints. The popular Themer App by MyColorScreen is the latest to come under fire in the last week for a DCMA complaint filed by Apple.
Many of you know Themer quite well. It is a n app that lets you sift through hundreds of preconfigured themes for your Android device. Choose the one you like, install it and you are off to the races with a completely new look and feel for your device. It is quite a brilliant app and one that is extremely user friendly, even for the newest of Android users. Apple didn’t go after MyColorScreen for the app, but rather one theme that was in the “Most Popular” category of the app called “Seven”. Apple’s complaint ..
This application violates Apple’s copyrights, in addition to other Apple IP rights. (This app developer’s unauthorized reproduction of Apple’s multiple copyrights may be viewed in-app by first downloading and installing the app, allowing Themer to create widgets on one’s device, and loading the “Seven†theme from the list of the “Most Popular†category under the Browse Themes.)
The end result, Themer is no longer available in the Play Store for download. Obviously MyColorScreen was quick to rectify the DMCA complaint and removed the offending theme from the lists. However, it is now a waiting game to see how long it takes Google to get back around to clearing them and allowing the app back in the Play Store.
Until it does make its way back, don’t go uninstalling it if you happen to have it still. This won’t stop the development of the app of course. The app went from closed beta to open beta in near the end of October last year and is rapidly headed towards v1.0 where it will exit all beta tags.
Source: Droid-Life
UPDATE: We found a letter with various bits of information from the CEO of Themer. Feel free to read through it on their Themer G+ page.
Update 2: Looks like Themer Beta has returned to the Play Store. Just a quick update, will investigate more, but I am sure that its removal and the stir that it received on various social media sites and blogs probably helped prompt Google to just it up a bit. Even though they wouldn’t admit to that even if it were the case. Anywho, link below to go grab it again if you need it.
