This is a difficult thing to say. Google has certainly been rather loose in its enforcement of this particular clause of the TOS. In fact, they themselves have provided demo code for people who want to have results displayed on a separate page of their site, rather than via AJAX. Then again, I suppose that they could justify this by saying that they themselves are not bound by the clause and simply providing a rudimentary example does not constitute granting permission to break the clause.
At any rate, if I was building an application, I would most certainly not make it strictly a Google search application. The search may be one feature of the app, but not the primary or only feature. After all, the TOS stipulate that I can't charge for their service, so there's no way to monetize it. They also say I can't rearrange (e.g., add, drop, re-order) results, so there's no way to add a "secret sauce" to differentiate it from Google itself. And they require that I display Google's branding, so everyone will know that the results aren't mine anyway. So I would very strongly urge you to reconsider building a simple Google search app. All of that said, please be advised that I am not a legal expert. If you have any doubts about any of this at all (and even if you don't have doubts), it would be strongly advisable to consult someone who is a legal expert. Jeremy R. Geerdes Effective website design & development Des Moines, IA For more information or a project quote: http://jgeerdes.home.mchsi.com [email protected] If you're in the Des Moines, IA, area, check out Debra Heights Wesleyan Church! On Sep 25, 2010, at 3:53 PM, Anechoic Productions wrote: > I'm working on a specialized AJAX-based application that filters > Google search results for parental controls & some other specialized > applications, and have a question about the Terms Of Use. > > Specifically, the Terms Of Use state: > > "By way of example, and not as a limitation, You agree that when using > the Service, You will not, and will not permit users or other third > parties to: > > * incorporate Google Search Results as the primary content on your > Property or any page on your Property;" > > So, what constitutes "primary content"? If this is all my app does, it > sounds like a clear violation. Do I need to incorporate other page > content so the Search functionality is not "primary"? > > There are a number of working sites out there that are in clear > violation of this (e.g. http://www.startupbin.com/google-google/). > > Anyone have any experience with this? > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Google AJAX APIs" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/google-ajax-search-api?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google AJAX APIs" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-ajax-search-api?hl=en.
