Not so long ago Cyanogen Inc. CEO Lior Tal announced in a sketchy blog post that the company is closing its Seattle office and moving to Palo Alto, California – presumably to be closer to where all the action happens, while leaving co-founder Steve Kondik behind.
Kondiak apparently wants to move on with the CyanogenMod project, but things might not be so easy due to legal issues. Let’s elaborate on that.
New rumors have emerged online saying that CyanogenMod might be renamed in the near future to LineageOS or Lineage Android Distribution.
(Dictionary definition: linage – direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree)
In his last official statement before parting ways with Cyanogen Inc, Steve Kondik asks the community if they should keep going. But he warned against intellectual propriety issues CyanogenMod might be confronted with if it were to “fork and rebrand”, which sparked talk of re-naming possibilities.
Kondik explains that the main IP is brand and trademark and he confesses he is not sure he can get it back without a fight, which is why renaming the custom firmware makes sense.
With that being said, a repo called “Lineage Android Distribution” has been spotted on GitHub hinting LineageOS (or Lineage Android Distribution for that matter) is already being considered as a serious alternative to CyanogenMod.
The repo is said to be very active, although the status of this mystery project currently remains unknown. So for the time being it’s quite uncertain whether CyanogenMod will indeed transition to LineageOS or not.
Even if the naming scheme changes, it’s very unlikely the functionality of the firmware will also be changed, so rest assured that the potential LinageOS will deliver the same goodies you have been accustomed to expect.
As for CyanogenOS, the company announced a few months ago it is focused on developing the so called ModularOS – an initiative designed to provide device manufacturers with a customizable version of Android.
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