January 18, 2024 at 12:37PM
Haier issued a takedown notice to a developer for creating Home Assistant integration plugins for its home appliances on GitHub. The developer received a legal threat demanding the removal of the tools citing unauthorized use and significant economic harm. The plugins, although open-source, may incorporate Haier’s intellectual property. Haier’s actions have sparked backlash and resulted in the plugins being forked 228 times.
Meeting Notes Takeaways:
– Haier issued a takedown notice to a software developer for creating Home Assistant integration plugins for the company’s home appliances and releasing them on GitHub.
– Haier is a multinational corporation selling products under various brand names, including General Electric Appliances, Hotpoint, Hoover, Fisher & Paykel, and Candy.
– German software developer Andre Basche received a legal threat from Haier regarding the plugins related to the Home Assistant integration for hOn smart control app.
– The plugins enable users to control Haier, Candy, and Hoover appliances through Home Assistant.
– Haier claims the plugins cause significant financial damage and violate copyright laws, and they demanded the immediate removal of the plugins.
– The legal threat has intimidated the developer, who announced that the project will be taken down in the next couple of days.
– The situation has sparked support for the developer and backlash on Haier, with users calling for a boycott of the company.
– The Haier home assistant plugins have been forked 228 times as a response to the legal threats.