Don't assume that the Android MapView terms of service is the same as the Maps API. It has its own:
http://code.google.com/android/add-ons/google-apis/maps-api-signup.html <http://code.google.com/android/add-ons/google-apis/maps-api-signup.html>I haven't read the details, but this is the license you should be paying attention to. -Mike On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:30 AM, darkflame <[email protected]> wrote: > "It may seem restrictive, but it's a free service, and Google are > subject to their suppliers' license terms which they have to pass on." > > Of course, but I also don't see much point in Google being bothered by > whats internally going on if the end result is the same. > > The "copying" statement in the license, especially with the example of > the server and stitching, could well be referring to copies on the > file-system, for example, and not manipulations of the image in the > ram/video ram. I can certainly see why they wouldn't want people > copying the files, but I struggled to see why they would care how its > being displayed on the device. Thats why I don't see it as being as > solid as you do...seems more ambiguous to me. > > "But that's also explicitly allowed (after all, if the device > couldn't > display a particular image, there wouldn't be a great deal of point > in > all this!)" > > Fair point :p > In this case, Google has pretty much end-to-end controll over it, > seeing as its their Android OS I'm using. But what about windows use > of the API? Theres all manor of things NVIdia/ATA drivers could well > be doing to the images of just about any window in windows. (Or Linux, > for that matter, with the fancy wobbly-effects some distros have). > I dont see how universally internally copying of image buffers can be > not allowed. > > "Google's response to this sort of thing in the past has been "You > may > be able to do it, but it doesn't mean you are allowed to, nor does it > mean it will continue to work."" > > I appreciate that. Its just a shame they haven't removed it, or > commented on that, as it would make its usage (or lack of) more clear- > cut > > "The bottom line is that you are allowed to use the API, and only the > API." > > I am. Nothing of what I'm doing requires any hack, or modifying of > their supplied code. > > I'm not longer using the static maps at all, incidentally, just the > mapView system; > http://code.google.com/android/add-ons/google-apis/ > Which I assume falls under the same license as the Google Map API in > general. > > On Jun 28, 6:21 pm, Andrew C Leach <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 28 June 2010 17:07, darkflame <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > maybe. > > > But then, under that context, caching the images for performance > > > reasons, which is allowed, would also be a derivative work. > > > > But that is explicitly allowed. > > > > > I guess it depends if they are seeing this from a code perspective, or > > > an "end result' perspective. After all, wouldn't almost all uses of > > > the API > > > be "modifying" the supplied images? (I mean, even if you didn't use > > > any custom markers getting really nitty-gritty, the device's > > > themselves will be modifying and copying the image to display them) > > > Wish they had more examples to make this more clear. > > > > But that's also explicitly allowed (after all, if the device couldn't > > display a particular image, there wouldn't be a great deal of point in > > all this!) > > > > > The other thing that makes me skeptical/hoping it is allowed, is that > > > the code to copy a bitmap from the mapView hasn't been overridden to > > > disable it. Guess that could have been overlooked though. > > > > Google's response to this sort of thing in the past has been "You may > > be able to do it, but it doesn't mean you are allowed to, nor does it > > mean it will continue to work." > > > > The bottom line is that you are allowed to use the API, and only the > > API. For Static Maps, you must display the image in a browser (which > > means you can't use them in a dedicated J2ME app, for example). If > > your chosen platform can't cope with the API, or doesn't count as a > > browser for Static Maps, then you can't use the tiles. > > > > It may seem restrictive, but it's a free service, and Google are > > subject to their suppliers' licence terms which they have to pass on. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Google Maps API" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<google-maps-api%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/google-maps-api?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Maps API" 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-maps-api?hl=en.
