Juridical Analysis on the Copyright of Modification and Customization of Android Software

Abstract

Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. It is usually used by several smartphones and tablets. The Android System (OS) is an open source, meaning developers can modify and customize the OS for each phone. Despite the fact that the creator of the Android system must have held the copyright on the appearance of the software which he created. This issue raises the problem: whether or not modifying and customizing the appearance of the Android System will infringe the copyright which is possessed by the holder. By researching, the author would seek on the status of the modified/customized Android Software and the legal consequences of the modified and customized Android System. The result of this legal research lies in the agreement that is proposed to modifier when they are about to download or install the software itself (by clicking yes/accept). This legal research is conducted by using normative legal research methods, using library research as a data collection technique and qualitative normative techniques as a data analysis technique, by juxtaposing legal theories as analytical knives.