Whenever you deal with TOS issues, it's best to have a legal expert in the mix. I am not one of these, and I don't know anyone on the group who is. So if you have any doubt about any of the advice that you receive here, you will want to consult someone who is.
That said, I see a couple of issues with your use of the Google Image Search API. First, you mentioned that the search functionality itself is free, but users will be expected to pay for the managing portion of the app. I don't think this is going to be a problem, BUT you will need to make absolutely clear what the users are paying for. Second, the TOS require very specific branding - "powered by Google" - to be displayed in proximity to any Google results. Simply displaying the logo could be construed as insufficient. And finally, the one show-stopper, so to speak. Section 1.4 of the Image Search API TOS explicitly prohibit changing the result order, intermixing of Google search results with results obtained from other sources, or even intermixing other generic content with Google search results such that this extra content appears to be part of Google's results. In other words, if you're going to search multiple engines, you will need to separate at least the Google results out from all the rest. These are just three issues that jumped out at me from your screenshots. There may be others if we were allowed to dig into the code and UI. You will definitely want to address these issues, and probably consult a legal expert to ensure compliance with other terms. Jeremy R. Geerdes Generally Cool Guy Des Moines, IA For more information or a project quote: jrgeer...@gmail.com If you're in the Des Moines, IA, area, check out Debra Heights Wesleyan Church! On May 25, 2011, at 4:32 PM, Joshua Pilkington wrote: > Hello, > > I am developing an application for Windows that is a wallpaper manager/ > changer. I plan on making this a for-profit commercial application. > > One of the (out of many) features it has is that it can find images > from Google/Yahoo/Bing/Flickr. I have API keys from each engine and > use them in coordination. > > I need to have some clarification on the branding/commercial use > requirements from Google. > > The implementation of the search (obtaining images) will be free - > however the features of my product (wallpaper management, etc.) will > require a license. > > As far as branding goes, here are some screenshots of the search > engine: > http://www.joshuapilkington.com/Search.Engine.html > > The search results in the two second views are mixed with those of > other sources (Yahoo/Bing/Flickr). > > Please let me know of any changes that I need to make, as the TOS is > pretty vague and seems to change frequently. I need to make sure when > I release this product that it isn't breaking any rules. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Google AJAX APIs" group. > To post to this group, send email to google-ajax-search-api@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > google-ajax-search-api+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > 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 google-ajax-search-api@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to google-ajax-search-api+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-ajax-search-api?hl=en.
