Recently I’ve started using other services besides Google Mail, such as Google Agenda, which allows me to publish a centralized calendar to which I can synchronize Evolution on Ubuntu and Sunbird on Windows Vista.
I noticed that Google also offers a Web Album service with Picasa, featuring a whopping 1 Gig of server space, free of charge. It seemed like a bargain compared to the annual US$ 24.95 I pay for my Yahoo Flickr Pro account, until I asked myself it the Picasa account really came with no strings attached.
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A quick search led me across these posts, Why I can’t try Picasa Web Albums, written about 18 months ago; and Photographers! Beware of Facebook and Google’s Picasa!, written about 3 weeks ago. Basically, by uploading pictures on the Picasa server, you agree with the terms of use, thereby granting Google Inc. a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish in its sole discretion, even for some unspecified time after the content has been removed from their servers. It appears that content uploaded through Blogger.com is subject to the same terms, since the company is a property of Google Inc.
Here is the excerpt from Picasa’s Terms of Service, as of Feb 7th 2008:
By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through Picasa Web Albums, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content through Picasa Web Albums, including RSS or other content feeds offered through Picasa Web Albums, and other Google services. In addition, by submitting, posting or displaying Content which is intended to be available to the general public, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, distribute and publish such Content for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services. Google will discontinue this licensed use within a commercially reasonable period after such Content is removed from Picasa Web Albums. Google reserves the right to refuse to accept, post, display or transmit any Content in its sole discretion.
Of course, there is the option of marking the content as “Unlisted”, which will keep it out of search results and make it only visible to your friends. But still, knowing that information, I think I’ll stick with my Yahoo Flickr account: Flickr’s policy is in fact way less blurry: they do endorse Creative Commons copyrights, which means you have the last say as to where and how your content may or may not be used.
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