When Chrome was released initially, there were those who read the terms of service. It appeared to give Google perpetual rights to content. Google has explained the problem with the initial licence:
“…Rebecca Ward, senior product counsel for Google Chrome, said the problem arose because Google re-uses swathes of its Universal Terms of Service across all its offerings “in order to keep things simple for our users”.
“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,” she said.”
link: Google tweaks Chrome licence text
It seems that the original creator of the work retains “copyright and any other rights“. What has been initially impressive is that Google has been responsive to concerns. Google seems to address issues without the usual corporate defensiveness. An explanation is given and corrective action taken. It is what one would hope from a business. That it actually happens is surprising.
Catherine Forsythe