About Google Code, or Why not to use Google Code
Recently, there was a huge outcry about the Google Chrome TOU. Strangely enough, the Google Code TOU have gotten no such reply. It certainly has the same “Say goodbye to your copyright” clause.
http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS
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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 licence 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 licence 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.
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To make things more confusing, part of the google code website links to an older version of the google TOU.
http://code.google.com/tos.html
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Google claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through Google services. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate, retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit, post or display on or through Google services and you are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through Google services which are intended to be available to the members of the public, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, modify, publish and distribute such Content on Google services for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services. Google reserves the right to syndicate Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through Google services and use that Content in connection with any service offered by Google. Google furthermore reserves the right to refuse to accept, post, display or transmit any Content in its sole discretion.
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There are two important consequences of this. The first is that it allows Google to use your code without using the OS license you use. The second is that it is expressly forbidden by most of the licenses of the licenses to grant such licenses google requires you to use.
Google Code cannot be used for hosting any copyleft software! (Even though it allows copyleft licenses for your project)
Tags: Google, Open Source, Problems, Programming