Thanks to the generosity of Google, I have an Android phone. We can go into my thoughts on the device some other time, but suffice it to say, my phone has caused me to go wandering around the Android world to see where the new, hip, cool stuff is going on. The other day, I was told to check out CyanogenMod, an open source mod to the Android OS that speeds things up and adds a bunch of features. Installing the mod requires some ROM flashing, so I decided against trying it out just yet (I'm squeemish about experimental software on the single most important device in my office). But while looking at the CyanogenMod home page, I discovered that the project is in the middle of a tiff with Ultimate Droid, a seemingly similar Android mod package.
Evidently, this Ultimate Droid package is just a rebranding of CyanogenMod, plus some hidden music quotes and quips, strewn like Easter Eggs. It's an intriguing occurance, and one that highlights what is really the only reason for copyright law: plagerism is the single most dangerous event prevented by said laws. Now, there are other reasons for copyright laws to exist, but this specific topic is really the crux of the whole thing.
CyanogenMod is actually licensed under the Apache Software License, and as such, does not even require attribution. And the CyanogenMod folks seem to understand and be OK with this. But one thing that open source licenses do not stop is flame wars on the Internet. And, wow, did one open up because of this little event. Take a look at this blog posting over on the CyanogenMod site. In it, the details of said flame war are laid bare in mirrored forum postings and Github comments.
When you get right down to it, this is something we all have to expect with open source. And it's something we all have to be ready to deal with. In the end, even the CyanogenMod people realized their flaming efforts were pointless and silly. Of course, stealing code and presenting it as your own is always a shadey thing to do, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really hurt anyone except those who can't find decent support because they're looking in the wrong place. Still, it makes for some entertaining drama.