Palm Banhammers a Pre Theme for Android

Are you an Android-lover? Are you still touting around your trusty G1, or even moved onto the physical keyboard-less Magic or Hero? And maybe someone you know has that other Linux-based Operating System, known as WebOS, and you can't help but want some of that action for yourself. Well, you could have gotten a little closer with a simple theme called (you guessed it) "Palm Pre Android Theme", which borrowed the icons, wallpapers, and general mojo directly from WebOS.

But, as you could have also guessed, Palm jumped all over this. The legal team was quickly called upon, and a formal letter was sent out to the theme developers to call it quits or else. It basically boils down to graphics copyrights and trademark infringement, and the company is telling the developers to cease and desist all use of the Pre name, interface, and everything else by some unknown date. Palm also said that it "appreciates that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery," but we'd be willing to guess this wasn't so much flattery, as just providing options for users.

What makes it even more confusing, is that there hasn't been any kind of statement or letter toward the developer of a Pre theme for the iPhone, which indeed steals away some of WebOS's thunder. Does it have anything to do with Palm making the Pre piggy-back on iTunes? One small stab at each other, all in good fun? We doubt it, but whatever the cause, we're hoping Palm lightens up. After all, a theme is just a theme.

[via Engadget]