Mazda DMCA takedown of open source Home Assistant app

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Mazda brand cars enable remote access to certain vehicle functions via servers owned by the company. To access these functions, Mazda provides an official app for smartphones. After an open-source project emerged that integrated support for Mazda vehicles into the Home Assistant suite, Mazda issued a false DMCA takedown notice, causing the project to be abandoned. A year after the incident, Mazda introduced a subscription model into its app, which costs $10/month, locking the previously free features behind a paywall.

Background

Many Mazda vehicles offer remote access to various car functions. These features include starting the engine remotely, rolling the windows up or down, and checking the fuel level. To control the car remotely, Mazda offers an official app for your phone that connects to a server, which then transmits the data to the vehicle.

Programmer Brandon Rothweiler released an open-source tool that integrates Mazda connectivity features into the open-source home management software "Home Assistant". This open platform enables users to access their products, which incorporate Mazda connectivity features into the open-source home management software "Home Assistant". Home Assistant is an open platform that allows users to access their products through integrations that integrate Mazda connectivity features into the open-source home management software "Home Assistant". This platform enables users to access their products via these individually created integrations. The program functions in essentially the same way as Mazda's official app, connecting to Mazda's servers that control your car remotely.

DMCA takedown notice and subsequent subscription fee

On October 10, 2023, Mazda issued a DMCA takedown notice to GitHub, claiming that the integration adding connectivity to Mazda vehicles infringes on their intellectual property rights by stealing code from their official app and requesting that it, along with forks of the project, be to GitHub claiming the integration that adds connectivity with Mazda vehicles infringes on their intellectual property rights by stealing code from their official app and wanted it, along with forks of the project, removed from the website. The developer did not want to challenge the claims and took down the repository within a few days to avoid potential legal repercussions. With the repository and all its forks gone, the integration was also removed from the Home Assistant app.

Code from Mazda's official app is not required to develop a tool that functions similarly. The server's API is freely accessible and figuring out how to interact with it can be done entirely without infringing on anyone's copyright.

Mazda's response

There was no public response from Mazda on the DMCA takedown notice.

Official MyMazda app

The official app can be used for free during a limited trial, which lasts either 1 or 3 years, depending on when the car was purchased. However, after the trial period ends, a subscription fee of $10/month must be paid to retain the MyMazda connectivity features. The price was not disclosed to buyers in advance, only that the service would incur a future cost, only that the service would eventually cost money in the future. The durations of the free trials were staged to expire around the same time, starting around late 2024. The shutdown of the free, open-source alternative just a year prior paints this in a broader context of anti-consumer practices: First, the only free alternative is shut down via a dubious cease-and-desist letter, and then the official product starts requiring a subscription fee to be paid.

Consumer response

People were unhappy about the takedown of the open-source repository, as many felt the unofficial app worked better and was easier to use than Mazda's own MyMazda service. Additionally, some have stated that they would not have purchased a Mazda vehicle had they known the open-source project would be struck by a DMCA claim, forcing the use of the official app, which many feel is not worth the price.