Browncoat
Senior Member
Google+ is Google's answer to social media, designed to compete directly with Facebook. It's not open to the general public yet, but it will be soon. It's pretty cool, but it's going to be a tough job uprooting 500 million Facebook users. Anyway, here's a little snippet from the Google+ terms of service:
We've touched on some of this verbiage in the Rights Grab thread. I'm not a lawyer, but what Google+ is trying to do here is pretty obvious. Combined with the already powerful Google image search, they are trying to own the rights to every image on the planet. The wording of this terms of service is dangerous.
Basically, if you wanted to license photos, the above agreement makes any image you post to Google+ the property of Google. Watermark, copyright, or not...it doesn't matter. You won't be able to offer any kind of license on those photos anymore. Ever.
You've been warned.
By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.
You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.
You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.
We've touched on some of this verbiage in the Rights Grab thread. I'm not a lawyer, but what Google+ is trying to do here is pretty obvious. Combined with the already powerful Google image search, they are trying to own the rights to every image on the planet. The wording of this terms of service is dangerous.
Basically, if you wanted to license photos, the above agreement makes any image you post to Google+ the property of Google. Watermark, copyright, or not...it doesn't matter. You won't be able to offer any kind of license on those photos anymore. Ever.
You've been warned.