Google’s Chrome Browser – A Threat to Copyrights ?

I posted about Chrome launched by Google and the Features of Chrome browser in my last post and now Chrome is available for download. Like most other Internet enthusiasts I downloaded it too and spend some time playing around with it. Typical to Google products it looks ultra simple and has got some nice cool features in in but what got my attention is the fine prints that you get to see while downloading Chrome browser. There are quite a few points that would grab the attention of people but here is the main one that I found to be of great concern..

It says that although you retain the copyrights to the content you own and use in Chrome, Google would have the right to display some of your content in promoting its services. To quote Google..

“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.”

While I am not the best judge of the legal implications hidden in these lines, it makes me a little uncomfortable and makes me think twice before using Chrome.

As the browser market is already highly competitive, I would still expect that Google would be fair in terms of using these legal terms in order to survive the competition from FireFox and IE.