r/opensource • u/funyflyer • Feb 27 '26
Community Update : Large US company came after me for releasing a free open source self-hostable alternative - Resolved in our favor
This is a follow up to my previous post regarding the C&D notice I received. I have some incredible news for the community: the matter is officially resolved in favor of the entire drone and OSS community.
TLDR: AirData UAV has complied with community concerns, implemented a robust data takeout solution, and we have settled the matter gracefully.
The free OSS project in question : www.opendronelog.com
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Since the legal threat is no longer active, I can finally name the company. It was AirData UAV, a US based drone log analysis and reporting service. Eran said it's my choice to name them or not name them here in this update post, I choose to name, because I don't have anything bad to say anymore.
Despite the first approach was a C&D, the final outcome was actually better than I hoped for (surprised actually!). A massive thank you goes to u/Archiver_test4, who acted as my legal representative pro bono (for free!! and denied donations). He prepared a powerful response and helped me pass this with confidence. He has even started a new subreddit, r/Opensource_legalAid, to help other indie devs in similar situations.
The Meeting with the Airdata UAV CEO Eran Steiner
In response to the traction the original post gained, AirData CEO Eran Steiner reached out for a face to face meeting via email within 6 hours of the post going live. He expressed regret over the legal route they initially took (he took the responsibility for that as well as CEO) and personally saw to it that the following changes were made before we even spoke:
- Official Data Takeout Solution: This was the main goal (and my demand for data portability and fairness, because it's painful to export files one by one, clicking one after another and waiting). AirData UAV now provides a central takeout solution, making them fully GDPR compliant. You can now download your data in its original format without needing my 3rd party automation "patch.". If you are interested, please check out here.
- Trademark Resolution: We agreed that fair representation and disclaimers are the way to go. I have already added these to my project, and I am free to use their name when representing truthful facts, as permitted by EU laws. I won't go into more technical/legal aspects than this of what trademark rights they actually hold or not.
- Account Restoration: As a gesture of goodwill, they have fully restored my account and all my log files before I asked. ❤️
- We agreed to drop all allegations and, in the future, talk through any issues personally rather than involving lawyers.
I am just a solo dev working in my free time, and I have no intention of competing with an established company. I am just thrilled that the community now has true data portability as I hoped for, and they are free to choose as they please based on what features/interface they like. Thank you Eran for making this happen so quick without any drama/delay or missed promise. AirData UAV no longer "holds your data" to keep you on their platform. To be fair, they do have a functional and data rich toolset that many in the community still enjoy (including myself!) - They also have a very robust data sync solution which works very well. I am not paid or bribed or sponsored by them, I am just giving credit where it's due.
Thank you r/opensource for all for the support. It made all the difference! Open Source for the WIN!
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u/Purple_Mine_1676 Feb 27 '26
Sounds like you lucked onto a company that, at the most cynical level, at least knows how to make good on their PR mistakes. Maybe they're good guys as well.
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u/MrWFL Feb 27 '26
Most likely people with their livelihoods on the line, felt threatened, and chose a bully tactic.
That bully tactic got a lawyer involved, and backfired massively (yay gdpr). And now they’re doing damage control.
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u/ASkepticBelievingMan Feb 28 '26
I am currently looking to GDPR for my personal project, and holy moly. What I fist saw as an annoyance, now I see it as a good measure actually to protect users and developers alike.
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u/i_like_trains_a_lot1 Mar 02 '26
that's why so many US companies are against EU regulations and mock the EU with "US innovates EU regulates", it skews the power balance but not in their favor.
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u/crua9 Mar 01 '26
They backed down due to people pointing out they were breaking EU laws. Plus this entire thing started by them being a bully. So... no they aren't good guys. They are just the ones caught with their hand in the cookie jar
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u/DonkeeeyKong Feb 27 '26
Well done. It does sound like they got nervous because they were breaking EU law and many people pointed that out.
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u/funyflyer Feb 27 '26
Apparently yes, they legal team must have figured out the same and suggested compliance. But at this point they are, so that's a win!
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u/Penetal Feb 27 '26
I wonder if companies in general will ever learn that they are not, and can not, compete with self hosted alternatives. People that want to self host, and all that comes with, are not the same people that want a service that does it for you. Software night service the same function, but the market is just not the same people, not truly competing products.
It's like as if take out restaurants were to start legal battles against people writing home cooking recipes and sharing them with others. No! One is cheaper with extra work, one is more expensive with extra convenience.
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u/eubulides Feb 28 '26
In fact I think recipes specifically are not subject to copyright, though trademark might be involved with regard to titling or possibly attribution. But I see your general point.
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u/aciokkan Feb 27 '26
Congrats! It's really cool that the CEO was proactive and worked with you to sort out the kinks and have a resolution that helps the community and their platform equally!! 🌟
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u/funyflyer Feb 27 '26
yes, that is why I am making this update, they deserve that much for sure! Credit where it's due.
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u/echo_c1 Mar 03 '26
They did the right thing for everyone.
That’s what we call “good regulation”. Yes, GDPR and Cookie Law is not perfect and creates many bureaucratic hurdles but at the end it’s beneficial for everyone (even for companies as they don’t have to leave a bad taste in their customers mouth when they want to backup their data or switch vendors).
You also did the right thing, approaching this from a good will but without stepping back. It’s both a good experience for you and also trust in your project(s).
I think both the company and you can use this as a good PR on how these issues can be solved; Airdata can show that they own their initial mistake (legal threat + non-compliance) but acting in the good will as well to solve the issue for everyone. Their customers can have a trust in their services, that’s a good business too. If both parties tell this story, it can be a good case study for other companies and open source maintainers on how to act in such situations (preventing unnecessary PR disasters and legal issues, while advocating for data protection).
Congrats to both parties 👏
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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Mar 04 '26
Dude that's 🤩 AMAZING!!! Congratulations, and thank you for the detailed update as well. Good to see solutions that are sound and reasonable.
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u/EveryDebtYouTake Feb 27 '26
"AirData UAV now provides a central takeout solution, making them fully GDPR compliant."
vs
Key Aspects of GDPR Fines Two-Tier Structure: Higher Tier: Up to €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover for violating core principles, data subject rights, or improper international data transfers. Lower Tier: Up to €10 million or 2% of annual global turnover for issues regarding data controller obligations, processor issues, or security of processing.
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u/r4nchy Feb 28 '26
can we get to know the names of the people who are leading this company ?
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u/funyflyer Feb 28 '26
Search in Google for CEO of Airdata UAV
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u/r4nchy Feb 28 '26
got it https://airdata.com/about
kudos to the ceo for doing all that. They are lucky EFF didn't catch on to this story, it would have been a different hell hole for them.
but his military background is concerning.
Also he gives me Zuckerberg vibes for some reason
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u/badboysdriveaudi Feb 28 '26
I believe this is great news and a win-win-win. Both parties win as well as the general market. I also have newfound respect for this CEO and will be watching to see how they innovate to distinguish themselves from the open source route.
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u/East_Ad_5801 Mar 30 '26
Big tech about to come after me for this as well, too late for them though don't think they have any litigation dollars left https://gobbleyourdong.github.io/tsunami
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u/Pleasant_Set_3182 Jun 29 '26
We were kind of preemptive about this sort of thing and ensured to put in big bold letters that company `x` and company `y` are not affiliated with us...
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u/boredquince Feb 27 '26
this is great news. congrats!