That's not true really. They can still send a C&D if they feel like it, which usually happens if something gets enough traction to gather a lot of public interest. The whole "you can't get in trouble if you don't profit" thing is a myth and only true in the sense that most of the time 1) it won't get to lawyer ears and 2) they won't care about some small little project a small community is interested in.

If he ever wants this project to be something serious he'll need to address the copyright issues.