[mpg123-devel] LGPL license violation on mobile versions of GTA San Andreas and more

[Alfredo C. <caj...@gm...>]

Hi,

I wanted to let you know that there's ports of Grand Theft Auto games that
are violating the LGPL license from this project by statically linking
mpg123 into it. They're official ports developed by War Drum Studios LLC,
(now doing business as Grove Street Games), and published by Rockstar
Games, which is owned by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and they're
still being sold today

Namely, I've been able to verify that mpg123 has statically linked against:

- Grand Theft Auto III for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rockstar.gta3&hl=en&gl=US
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rockstargames.gtavc&hl=en&gl=US
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rockstargames.gtasa&hl=en&gl=US
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rockstargames.gtalcs&hl=de&gl=IR
(currently unavailable in some territories)
- Grand Theft Auto III for iOS (can be found in iOS App Store)
- Grand Theft Auto SA for iOS (can be found in iOS App Store)

Other versions that I have not been able to verify, but I suspect might be
also in violation of the license:

- Grand Theft Auto Vice City for iOS (I haven't inspected this version yet,
but since it's in between GTA 3 and GTA SA, I'm positive it's there)
- PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows 8 Store ports of GTA 3, GTA VC and GTA SA

It's very easy to evidentiate the usage of mpg123 on the binaries I
verified:
- Logging from mpg123 source files, which also reveal the exact version in
use, mpg123-1.13.3 (attached a screenshot from IDA Disassembler - present
in Android and iOS)
- Debug symbols included on the release executable that match mpg123, as
well as clearly matching pseudocode (attached screenshot as well - Android
only)
- Debug information including complete structure and enum information from
mpg123 (attached screenshot as well - only on GTA San Andreas: for Android)

Considering that, I think it can be unequivocally stated that all of these
titles are in violation of the LGPL license for multiple reasons:
- No notice regarding LGPL code being in use anywhere in the game, stores
or etc..
- mpg123 source code, or instructions where to find it, nowhere to be found.
- The GTA games were never released under LGPL, and no object code has been
released that allows us as users to link GTA with our own version of mpg123.

That said, I strongly encourage developers who have copyright under mpg123
to acquire a copy of these games, so you have the chance to enforce LGPL,
since only the copyright owners who have received the offending software
can complain about license violations, and not 3rd parties.

I cannot imagine what reaction you would have, but probably not a positive
one considering these games have basically made millions while profiting
off LGPL source code without respecting the license at all. Some of these
ports have been released over 10 years at this point, but the latest
updates were just about a year ago and they still contain mpg123 on it.

I have no idea if Rockstar Games or Take-Two have been made aware of this.
Given their anti-consumer behaviour the past years, I do not know how much
luck you will have with this other than an attempt to try to hide the
situation under the rug, which is why I strongly suggested getting a copy
of the games ASAP, so that they don't take down the games before you're
able to acquire them to attempt to avoid LGPL compliance. I may be a bit
biased, but considering their past behavior, including litigating against
reverse engineers that aimed to fix the game (search online about the re3
and reVC case to see a good example of their bad faith actions), I don't
think they should be given the benefit of doubt, which is why I recommend
acquiring the games as well. In any case, this is a clear LGPL violation
and they should be made to comply with the license.

I encourage you to try to ask for help in assistance to how enforce
compliance. The Free Softwaree Foundation "offers assistance and advice to
any other copyright holder who wishes to enforce GNU licenses":
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-violation.en.html - The Software Freedom
Conservancy has also been willing to help with these kinds of matters,
going up to even funding a lawsuit for GPL violations:
https://sfconservancy.org/

Please contact me in case you need more information, such as binaries, more
details, or if there's any other details that you may want to know. My
email is caj...@gm...

Regards,
C.

PS: My email didn't go through when I sent the screenshots as attachments,
so I'll include this imgur album instead, which has the screenshots I
mentioned before: https://imgur.com/a/8SxkluR
Please ignore any "+18" warning imgur may display too - they're just
screenshots from IDA Pro!