Android App Websites Seized in the U.S. for Alleged Copyright Violations
U.S. law enforcement officials said on Tuesday that three websites that were allegedly distributing illegal copies of copyrighted Android cell phone apps had been seized in what is described as the first such operation against cellphone apps marketplaces.
Context & Ripple Effects
Android piracy had already produced a repository takedown in 2010, while game developers raised concerns in 2011 about unauthorized copies on Android Market. Google also demonstrated its own marketplace control by removing Grooveshark from Android Market.
The seizure of three alleged app-distribution sites moves the response beyond a single repository or store listing: U.S. law enforcement is treating third-party mobile-app marketplaces as copyright-enforcement targets.
First-order effects
- The three seized sites lose their ability to distribute the allegedly infringing Android apps, disrupting access for their users and operators.
- Android developers whose apps appeared on those sites gain an immediate enforcement action against an unauthorized distribution channel.
Second-order effects
- Third-party Android app distributors face a higher risk that copyright disputes will bring domain seizures, not merely removal from Google's official marketplace.
- Google's marketplace policing is complemented by law-enforcement action against sites outside Android Market, reducing developers' reliance on platform-only moderation.
Third-order effects
- If seizures become a repeatable remedy, mobile-app copyright enforcement will increasingly cover independent distribution infrastructure as well as official app stores.
- The case points toward a governance model in which the openness of Android distribution is constrained by external copyright enforcement when platform rules do not reach a marketplace.
The trend: Mobile-app ecosystems are extending copyright enforcement from app-store moderation to independent distribution sites.