@gedankenstuecke certainly not the first time copyright has been wielded in this way, to get otherwise valid-papers retracted, fwiw.
e.g. (from 2020) Psychology paper retracted after creators of tool allege “serious breach of copyright” https://retractionwatch.com/2020/12/29/psychology-paper-retracted-after-creators-of-tool-allege-serious-breach-of-copyright/
@gedankenstuecke the @hertzpodcast podcast did a segment on it once, very entertaining