GBGames

Yesterday I wrote about Chrome’s evil EULA terms, and posted a link to Tap The Hive about the news.

Well, it looks like Google fixed the EULA language.

Here’s an official response from Rebecca Ward, Senior Product Counsel for Google Chrome:

“In order to keep things simple for our users, we try to use the same set of legal terms (our Universal Terms of Service) for many of our products. Sometimes, as in the case of Google Chrome, this means that the legal terms for a specific product may include terms that don’t apply well to the use of that product. We are working quickly to remove language from Section 11 of the current Google Chrome terms of service. This change will apply retroactively to all users who have downloaded Google Chrome.”

And the new EULA terms?

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.

So it’s safe to use Google Chrome again. Probably about 10% of the population can breathe a sigh of relief now, and the remaining 90% can go on wondering what the big deal was, although I think that says more about a general misunderstanding of copyright than anything else. But that’s another post on another day.

What I like about Google is that the company occasionally acts like a startup. They occasionally say “Whoops! We made a mistake! We’ll fix it!” And they make bone-headed mistakes like copy-and-pasting legal language that doesn’t really say what they wanted the EULA terms to be…something indie game developers do all the time. Google moves quickly for being such a large company.

Now if only they can take their belief “in access to information for everyone” and apply it to AdSense/AdWords. Why do I have to be left in the dark with so much of the data not provided?

[tags] google chrome, eula, business [/tags]

So with all of the excitement about Google’s new web browser, someone decided to actually read the EULA and determined that it sucks:

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. 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. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

So by agreeing to the EULA and using Chrome, you are saying that while you still own the copyright of anything you create, such as a blog post or a file you wish to upload, you are also granting Google a license to those works.

If you use Chrome to upload your latest game build to a server, Google now has the right to redistribute it at no cost. Yes, you still have your rights, but then Google essentially claims those rights as well at no charge.

Is Google serious? The sad thing is, yes, Chrome is probably much faster and much more secure than other browsers, but if most people can’t agree to such terms, such as people at work, at school, and in certain professions, then what good is it? Why does Google need all of these rights? When they do finally make Gnu/Linux port, count me out. I’ll wait for a non-evil version, whether by Google or by someone else. For now, I’ll stick with Firefox. Last I checked, Mozilla doesn’t insist that it needs to mooch off of my business in order for me to use it.

[tags] google chrome, eula, business [/tags]