Not long after (sometimes even before) a new handset is introduced, hackers begin releasing cooked ROMs to introduce new features and improve the software however they see necessary.  We haven't really seen manufacturers take action against these hackers, but that changes today.  Shipped-ROMs, put together by well-known hacker Conflipper, has received a cease and desist letter from HTC's Legal Counsel.  The site has pulled together ROMs for just about every HTC device made, including the unreleased HTC Aria.  HTC says that the site is in the wrong because of the “illegal copying … HTC¡¦s original art work,” though the specifics of what they mean by "art work" is unclear.  It could be either the actual art in the OS or the code and everything else that they put into creating their OSes.  It's strange that HTC has suddenly taken an interest in stopping the distribution of ROMs since it's been going on for such a long time.  This leads me to believe that they're more upset about the fact that all of these ROMs are readily available in one place rather than requiring a user to spend time hunting them down.  If HTC is aiming to remove the ROMs completely, they have a sizable task ahead of them.  Even if they do manage to shut down Shipped-ROMs, the files will simply pop up on another site.  Have you ever used a ROM on your device?

Via MobileCrunch