HTC Themes, icon packs, and copyright infringement: the situation one year on

HTC Themes are thoroughly customizable, which is great. They're not all-or-nothing like the all-or-nothing kits offered by Samsung. You can choose your own colors, your own images, your own icon pack, and build the theme you want. You can even break them free of the traditional home screen grid on the new HTC 10. The problem is, an unfortunate amount of the material in the HTC Theme store wasn't uploaded by its creator.

And when those rightful owners have come calling for their work to be taken down, they haven't gotten much from HTC.

Put Batman or anyone else on your phone with HTC Themes.

In Sense 7 last year, HTC introduced HTC Themes, allowing its users to customize their phones and to build and share their own themes through the store. I'm all for customization, especially allowing people to create their own when the offered themes fall short (I'm looking at you, Samsung).

Because you could build your own themes using anything you wanted, that offered much more freedom to users. In a service with user-generated content, such as Themes and icon packs, it's impossible keep it from being abused in a few cases. We're beyond that few at this point.

I've amassed plenty of packs in the Google Play Store. None are usable in Sense Home.

Sense Home doesn't support icon packs from Google Play, only from HTC Themes. So users began extracting icon pack apks and uploading them to HTC Themes, without the creator's consent. Hundreds of paid and free icon packs were put up, and downloaded tens of thousands of times. This meant that even if HTC Themes didn't have Google Play support, users could still get all the great packs they were looking for. Materialistik. (opens in new tab) Stealth. (opens in new tab) Glim. (opens in new tab) Royale. (opens in new tab) Sense users could still use them; their developers just didn't get paid for it.

There are still packs being uploaded today.

Now, as HTC Themes are only available on HTC phones, it took a while for some developers to notice their work had been stolen. Developers are still noticing the theft to this day, and new packs are being copied and uploaded. It's often a matter of hours after a new pack is published in Google Play before it can wind up on the HTC Themes store.

If you see something, report something.

HTC claims they have four methods for reporting IP violations. However, two of those four methods require an HTC phone: using the report button in the HTC Themes app and in the Feedback section of the same app. Lacking an HTC phone, most developers effected don't even know there is a report button at all. The other options for making a claim are to email either HTC Themes at gp_theme@htc.com or HTC Legal at Global-Copyright@htc.com. In the communications between HTC's social media accounts and developers, users would sometimes be directed to these emails, but were often told to other accounts instead, such as the North American Marketing Team and the HTC's US Copyright office.

In a response to our questions about the IP violations, HTC stated that they respond to claims of copyright infringement within one week. They also claim that repeat offenders lose the ability to upload content on the HTC Themes store. Sergejj Osmakov (opens in new tab) has been responsible for hundreds of packs and dozens of claims over the last several months, and has been mentioned by name in posts by several developers bemoaning the situation. He is still actively uploading packs, including packs created as recently as last week.

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Developers have cried out about this before. Late last fall and in the beginning of 2016, developers would post and reshare their outrage over their work being stolen. And HTC would put out a tweet or a reply telling developers to email different accounts for Copyright or Marketing teams. They said we're looking into it. There are still being packs uploaded today. PLAY, which was released by Tha PHLASH last week, was up on HTC Themes within three days. We happened to be talking with him when he found out. He was not a happy camper.

Well, it shows to me that they don't care or protect developers, which leads to a really bad image. -Kevin Aguilar

Months of emails, tweets, and posts across several networks left developers like Tha PHLASH and Maximilian Keppeler with nothing but a few form responses and instructions to email differing accounts, emails that more often than not were not responded to. A few lucky developers managed to get icon packs taken down for a time, but they returned with determined regularity. The vast majority of inquiries and emails about improperly uploaded icon packs were not answered, and that silence told most developers enough.

Kevin Aguilar was one of the developers who didn't even see a point in contacting HTC after seeing the response other developers got, like packs that were uploaded again and again. This view was only strengthened when he looked into the Terms of Use for HTC Themes (opens in new tab) and found this clause at the beginning of the User Content section:

HTC does not control and is not responsible or liable for any photos, information, files graphics, text, images, sounds, video, software, tools, and other materials (including metadata) that is provided by users of the Service.

This throws a few wrenches in when it comes to developers trying to get their work removed. HTC's abdication of liability minimizes the legal recourse available to developers if/when requests to take down the work are ignored. While there are IP takedown guidelines in those same Terms of Use, they are harder to find, developers often aren't told what pieces of information they need to supply for a takedown request, and many requests never see a response. Some have simply given up, accepting that there's nothing to be done.

"So a few developers aren't getting paid their 99 cents for an icon pack. So what?" Well, that one dollar may not look like much, but for packs that have been downloaded hundreds or thousands of times, that's thousands of dollars down the drain. Remember PLAY? In less than a week, it deprived PHLASH of over 500 downloads, or roughly a thousand dollars worth of sales. Add up the revenue lost by Coastal Images (opens in new tab), who has quite a number of packs on the site, and it is easily over $15,000. That's assuming all of those people would have paid for it through the Play Store, of course, but it's clear these losses aren't nothing.

Icon pack developers already face some interesting challenges. Icon packs are, quite simply, a luxury app. You don't need them to get anything done (except avoid looking at some of the particularly garish app icons that may have come with your phone). Getting traction for an icon pack is a serious accomplishment, imitation is flagrant, and getting someone to invest even menial amounts in the icons they'll spend days and weeks perfecting is a hard ask to most Android users.

This is not some far-flung theme site. It bears the name and logo of a major manufacturer.

It's bad enough that their apps are given away in piracy-friendly APK sites across the web. To have it happen on an app that bears HTC's name and logo is just wrong. Better enforcing (and better informing developers of) the Copyright takedown procedure (opens in new tab) hiding in the Terms and Conditions of the HTC Themes store would be a nice start. Allowing HTC Themes to take advantage of the Google Play icon packs so users won't turn to pirated packs as their only option in HTC Home wouldn't hurt either.

For me personally it made the impression, that they don't care and just used it to make the Theme store more popular by adding more awesome content. - Maximilian Keppeler

For every single developer I spoke to, they all believe it's too late to make a difference. They've resigned themselves to their work being stolen and their profits being hobbled by piracy. And even as we wait for the HTC 10 to hit stores, we have to wonder if the treatment of user-generated content on Themes will be an indication of how it's handled on HTC's other platforms.

Ara Wagoner

Ara Wagoner was a staff writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes YouTube Music with a stick. When she's not writing about cases, Chromebooks, or customization, she's wandering around Walt Disney World. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.

40 Comments
  • Exactly what happens when manufacturers tries to duplicate something within a closed solution. Just open up the themes so people can go to the market and download what they want. It's that simple. Posted via the Android Central App
  • It really is ridiculous. Just about every iconpack creators stuff is up there..mine are (along with multiple apk sites).
    After many posts, tweets etc by others I saw no reason to even bother going through the hoops to have HTC do anything.
    It's obvious that HTC just like Google really don't care to protect creators/devs works.
    As long as they get their percentage from individual sales to cover server costs for hosting.
    But,the issue really comes down to the individuals who get some sort of "high" from exercising their sense of entitlement and upload conten this way that are the real issue.
    I've come to realize the reality that once something is released, it's gonna be out everywhere on the internet. Tis the world we live in.
    Only thing I can do is thank those who are supporting my hobby legitimately.
  • How cheap. I have no problem forking out 6-7 dollars to have some of your icon packs. People are ridiculous.
  • That reminds me, I still need to try your stuff sometime.
  • Jay, care to share what sort of icons you create? I might buy a few off you. Always love supporting a fellow deserving developer :) Posted via the Android Central App
  • https://www.androidcentral.com/e?link=https2F2Flinks2Ftype2Fsid2Fhttps2F2Fstore2Fdev3D5600753200715590925&token=8vA4-N_K
  • Ah piracy. The ultimate sign that people have a stupid sense of entitlement and think they should get everything for free. Posted via the Android Central App
  • Ah piracy. The ultimate sign that people have a stupid sense of entitlement and think they should get paid for everything they create.
  • Maybe one of the dumbest comments I've ever seen on this site. Maybe the entire internet. Posted via the Android Central App
  • I agree.
  • Your mom dropped you when you were a child right? That has got to be the most insane, idiotic, and brain dead comment ever.
  • So I should work 40hrs a week building a house for someone, and not get paid?? Never mind the fact that I have a family to provide for. It's the same for these Devs that work to create something. They have bills to pay, same as any of us do. Posted via the Android Central App
  • +1 Posted via the Android Central App
  • Go away. Please. Posted via the Android Central App (Motorola Nexus 6 - US Cellular)
  • Yeah, it's entitlement to go to work and receive a paycheck. I'd seriously consider getting mental help if I were you. Posted via the Android Central App
  • Please get an iPhone so I'll never see you around the Android community again.
  • I wonder if the OP knew what was coming out of his keyboard when he typed that......
  • I'm sure he had/has a 9 pack of Angel Soft right there just for this occasion.
  • Um ianal but one would think these would violate the dmca here in the states. It sounds to me that htc isnt taking down the violations quickly as required by law nor are they provoding an easy means for copyright holders to submit violaltions. They need to contact a lawyer, make a class action against htc. Just because a company claims they aren't liable doesnt make it so. Contact a lawyer and see if there is s case. Posted via the Android Central App
  • You are really ignorant of how the law works. Typical pedestrian. Posted from the Star Destroyer The Finalizer in General Hux's bedroo above Moraband.
  • Really how so. Last i checked the dmca provides amnesty to service providers, htc for instance in this case, from copyright violations of their users. For the amnesty service providers must provide a method to report said violations and they must act on the take down requests. In fact it makes certain acts criminal. So please enlighten me on what facts of the dmca i am in error of. If they are having issues they need to contact a lawyer who can properly help them navigate the tricky waters of copyright violations as it pwrtaons to their ability to enforce their copyright. Posted via the Android Central App
  • It'll never happen, but if enough people started emailing htc and say they're not going to buy an htc phone as long as htc condones piracy, you might see htc pay attention.
  • HTC is almost encouraging piracy because they can't get proper dev support. Just another reason not to purchase HTC products, that and they've been unreliable for the last couple years. Posted via the Android Central App
  • The icon packs can be gotten for free with a little googling anyway. Unless Android adopts Swift and Apple's style of the app store, piracy will run wild on android. I'm still surprised that "thousands" still use/buy HTC phones. Posted via the Android Central App
  • Some of us smaller blogs had covered this months ago, and I'm sure most, if not all of my colleagues are glad to see this issue getting the attention it deserves from a major media outlet. While I'm hopeful that the more-prominent coverage will get the attention of someone at HTC who has the juice to do something about this, I fear that they'll still ignore the outrage as they've done thus far.
  • Oh, I know. I've been waiting months for an HTC response to use in here. I've wanted to write this since around the beginning of the year.
  • This. Ara's been on this for quite a while now. +1 for her work here, and all the effort she put into it.
  • HTC needs to change their policy and state theft is a violation of the Theme Store TOS, then back it up with people taking action and removing themes that are in violation. Everybody loves free stuff, but I'd rather pay for someone's hard work to encourage quality.
  • Oh, their TOS absolutely states that. It also states repeat offenders will lose rights to upload content. That second part we have yet to see. And developers have seen packs taken down, but that doesn't matter if there's no real mechanism to stop them from going right back up weeks, days, or hours later.
  • I'm one of those guys who doesn't hesitate to purchase icon packs or upgrades to a launcher or other related apps because if the design of the icons and the looks plus functionality of the launcher are excellent, then I feel that the developer deserves part of my hard-earned cash. But really, from the looks of it. HTC doesn't seem to really care about icons that are blatantly stolen from the original content creator without permission. I don't know how this will pan out in the future, but if this gets more media traction, it might put HTC in a bad light for developers and some others unless they do something about it soon.
  • Get it together HTC. This is not a good look. Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition
  • Fantastic article Ara! #TeamFrosty Nexus 6P
  • HTC, taking the quiet in "Quietly Brilliant" a bit too literally. And not actually being brilliant. Unlocked Marshmallow Nexus 6 on Verizon. I'm a happy guy.
  • Well, ya know, I don't support piracy, theft, stealing, or whathaveyou. That's why I will not buy HTC products any more until this is handled. In fact, I was going to replace my wife's E8 with the 10 but she read this article and said "Nope. Steve this is BS." I'm not going to argue with her as she is totally correct in her assumption. She will make a decision on what phone to get.....just not HTC. Jimbo? Where art though Jimbo? I don't see you in here defending HTC. I'm sure you have a wonderful explanation for this while touting how great HTC is.....
  • "That's assuming all of those people would have paid for it through the Play Store, of course." Which many of them most likely would not have. This sucks for devs and HTC needs to get their asses in gear about dealing with it, but don't go using the same logic that groups like the RIAA or MPAA would use. Posted via the Android Central App
  • Oh, absolutely. But if even half of them had paid, that'd be $7,500, which is nothing to sneeze at.
  • Pretty sucky to have stuff stolen. As for a Samsung, it's not all or nothing, not really. I have a Samsung and use their themes obviously, but if you use a launcher like Nova, Apex etc, you get the benefit of using the overall system theme look, yet able to customize icons to whatever you want which basically is full customization +. The TouchWiz launcher is bad. You can't hide icons that you can't disable, can't delete from the home screen, you can't do a lot of smart things that should be common sense by now. Don't know why anybody would want to use it unless they just like to settle. In this way it's fair for both sides because you can use icons that you legally purchased from the Play Store, while using themes that you buy from Samsung. I just hope my favorite icon devs don't stop updating the apps or icons because this would be disheartening for any dev. The upside? HTC probably will go out of business at some point. Also will show other manufacturers (maybe Apple??) How many people really like to customize their phones. I just wish the theme store was on the S2 tablet as well. The tip is not included! So tip your Uber driver.
  • I have a question. It won't stop the piracy, but can developers upload their own content to the HTC development store? Or doesn't HTC collect and pay for these? Forgive my ignorance, my last HTC phone was the M8 Posted via the Android Central App
  • Great article. I am one of those who will purchase apps ands icon packs if I want them as opposed to stealing them. I know this may sound a little inflammatory, but do those same people who hate this kind of theft also speak disparagingly about theft of music or movies? This is just part of a bigger issue where someone who puts in the effort to create should be able to expect to be paid. If a person doesn't like the price, don't buy the product. This is just a product of the "i want...so I deserve..." attitude that is so prevalent today. Posted via the Android Central App
  • Google and HTC are both ******, shady companies and nobody should continue buying their products or supporting them. HTC is by far the worst of all the horrible electronics companies releasing Android products. I wouldn't even waste my time creating anything that these companies make money off of and allow piracy and kanging to just continue on. Just terrible action and reaction time on HTC's and Google's part. I bet if they were sharing free premium google music service there would all out hell to pay and things would be resolved quickly. Instead they just sit back, laugh, and continue counting their billions....