In response to developers’ complaints of unauthorized usage of their wares, Google has set up a licensing service, by which – via a set of libraries – an application can hit Google’s server, which stores sales records. Every time an app with this protection is launched, it checks with Google to be sure the copy is legit.

The new system will replace the old copy protection method within the next few months, and should be more secure and less problematic. Read more over at the Android Developers Blog.