Questions Over Ownership Of Content On Google Docs

An article on InfoWorld reports on the concerns that have been raised by clauses that suggest that anybody who puts content on Google’s shared document service, Google Docs, grants Google the rights to reproduce and share that content. Infoworld says:

Google is in damage control mode over a clause in the user agreements for its Google Docs and Spreadsheets applications that implies an inordinate degree of power over the content that runs over its services.

The clause reads: “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, nonexclusive, 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.”

OK, ok. There’s a bit of trouble making going on here – and we’d guess that Google didn’t really spend much time reworking their legal for documents – but still it highlights the concern we have for data on the web we think is private.

Infoworld