Google Play pulls Luanti after Tracer.AI files a Minecraft DMCA notice for Microsoft
Google Play removed Luanti, the open-source voxel engine formerly called Minetest, after AI brand-protection vendor Tracer.AI filed a DMCA notice for Microsoft citing one Minecraft registration number and naming no infringing asset — Luanti ships no games and only utility textures. A counter-notice is in, and Google has passed the DMCA's 10-14 business-day reinstatement window; the same vendor's 2023 notice against the same app took 46 days to clear. For maintainers whose projects resemble a commercial title, automated takedowns are a distribution risk no code change prevents — store discovery and updates stop, and users drift to unofficial forks.
Source: blog.luanti.org ↗
If a company can repeatedly submit the same DMCA notice with no explanation or evidence, taking projects down for months at a time, the system is broken.
Why this matters
- → DMCA abuse weaponizes copyright law to suppress legitimate competition in game engines.
- → Automated brand-protection AI files takedowns with no evidence, creating months-long distribution blackouts.
- → Open-source maintainers lack resources to fight repeated frivolous notices, ceding market to forks.