Microsoft/TracerAI withdraws copyright takedown against Luanti
Microsoft has rescinded a DMCA copyright takedown notice against the open-source voxel game platform Luanti. The move follows revelations that Microsoft Research itself utilizes Luanti for its own AI and voxel-based research projects.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between corporate intellectual property enforcement and the open-source community, particularly when large tech firms rely on the very tools they attempt to suppress.
<p>Previously, we announced that
<a href="/2026/08/27/luanti-dmca-tracer-ai/">Microsoft via Tracer AI had filed a DMCA notice against Luanti’s Google Play listing</a>,
alleging that Luanti infringed upon Minecraft’s copyright. The notice has been
rescinded and the app has been reinstated on the Play Store.</p>
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<p>The notice being rescinded means that the app has been reinstated on the Play
Store sooner than if we had to wait for the counter-notice period. It also
indicates that they have dropped this case and do not plan to file a lawsuit.</p>
<p>In a remarkable twist, after the previous post, we discovered that Microsoft
actually uses Luanti for research:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-vega/">Project VEGA</a> - Microsoft Research & XBOX:</p>
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