Mupen64Plus "Code License"

[paulscode]

Google's system for DMCA claims is completely automated, so unfortunately there are no "smarts" in place to smell out the trolls. Case in point, a random guy in China got my account permanently banned by filing fake claims against the donation version of Mupen64Plus AE I had on there a while back. Never once was able to talk to a real person at Google, and my counter claims and emails to developer support were completely ignored. My guess is they'd rather just wash their hands of the whole thing rather than hiring someone to actually look into these cases to make sure they aren't complete bogus.

BTW, Techworkz (the guy whose branch doesn't have ads in it) got another DMCA filed against his app he re-published, from the same Michael T. character. This time he actually received an email as well:

I am the lead committer of the Mupen64 project, based in Romania. Do not attempt to reupload the app as I will file a DMCA claim against it. I have successfully filed DMCA claims against all N64 Emulators on the Google Play market because they all violate my code license.

If too many of your apps get taken down, your Google account will be banned.

Maybe we'll have more luck communicating with him directly this time to figure out who he is and what terms of the GPL specifically he believes are being violated. I expect he is just a random vigilante who is taking advantage of Google's flawed system to follow a calling that he apparently feels is worth committing perjury over. Really irks me that people can get away with this BS.

[LazerTag]

You know what is worse about this is the fact that Romania and China have no respect or accordance with copyright laws to begin with. You would think DMCA claims from either of those countries would be scrutinized under a microscope or just ignored altogether.

[Moshroum]

Try to contact the press about Google Market vs. GPL. They screamed when Apple did such things and I am sure they will also scream when you can prove that google did this and isn't as friendly as they always try to do when marketing is involved. And not press like a little blog. CNET, Slashdot, ...

[paulscode]

Turns out "Michael Tompkinsal" is just an alias. This is actually Brad Geng again, the same guy who got my Google Play account banned by filing fake DMCA claims against Mupen64Plus AE a few months ago so he could corner the market with his branch. The way I figured out who he is is a long story, so I won't go into it here (I have a six-page thread that goes into this thing in more detail on my forum at paulscode.com for anyone who wants more information). The guy even filed DMCA claims from this alias against his own apps published under his other alias (his head is clearly not screwed on very straight). He seems to just be someone having fun screwing around with the system because he can get away with it. Probably some 12-year old kid "joy riding" with an IP proxy.

Anyway, sorry for bringing this up on here (I probably should have done a little more homework before I started this thread).

[Malcolm]

No worries Paul, sometimes it's helpful to get some more eyes on a problem.

[smcd]

I was thinking this sounded entirely familiar, and found the thread from a while back.. Saw it was "Brad" then and not now, but couldn't help but wonder if it was related. Good to see my spidey sense is still working, apparently

[etking]

Apart from all the license stuff, I do not think it is OK to steal the work of others only to make money out of it. Mupen64plus is a free product and in my opinion it is absolutely not OK to charge money for any kind of android port, since the original project and developers will not benefit in any way.

[ExtremeDude2]

And that is what the GPL is for :3

[Malcolm]

Apart from all the license stuff, I do not think it is OK to steal the work of others only to make money out of it. Mupen64plus is a free product and in my opinion it is absolutely not OK to charge money for any kind of android port, since the original project and developers will not benefit in any way.

It's not theft if there's attribution, the license that the source code was released under expressly allows this type of usage.

I contributed to the original Mupen64 GUI code a few years back, doesn't matter to me if someone were to use that code creatively and make money off it - I was in it to help the project.

[Richard42]

Apart from all the license stuff, I do not think it is OK to steal the work of others only to make money out of it. Mupen64plus is a free product and in my opinion it is absolutely not OK to charge money for any kind of android port, since the original project and developers will not benefit in any way.

From a legal perspective, what really matters is following the license under which the original source code is distributed. The GPL allows third parties to sell the software (profiting from the sale of software is not forbidden), as long as they abide by all of the terms of the license, which include distributing the complete (modified) source code to anyone who requests it. Paulscode has followed the license and released his modified source code as he was required to do, so he should be commended for his contributions. The other unscrupulous developers who took his (and my, and others') work and distributed as their own without following the terms of the GPL have violated the license and put themselves at legal risk.