That problem had to do with some apps (closed source) that were being distributed without permission, not with the OS. It really is mostly a legal/copyright issue. They were on the right (if you allow for the existence of closed source apps). The developer is now complying with the law and there is apparently a workaround way of obtaining those apps. And Google doesn't care much about that as long as their copyright is respected. Google has to defend its copyright otherwise it risks loosing it.