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The license GM holds over textual comments submitted by users does not terminate upon account deletion, content removal, or cessation of use of the Web site.
This analysis describes what General Motors's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision distinguishes the treatment of User Comments from User Videos: while the video license terminates within a commercially reasonable time after removal, the comment license has no termination mechanism. This creates a permanent grant of rights over textual content submitted to the site.
Under this clause, any textual comment submitted to gm.com is licensed to GM on a permanent and irrevocable basis, meaning users cannot withdraw the license for comment content regardless of whether they delete their account or request removal of the comment.
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"The above licenses granted by you in User Comments are perpetual and irrevocable.Excerpt from General Motors's GM Terms of Use
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages U.S. copyright law and may interact with EU GDPR data subject rights, including the right to erasure, if user comments constitute personal data. The GDPR right to erasure under Article 17 may create tension with a perpetual irrevocable contractual license, depending on whether the comment content constitutes personal data and whether a lawful basis other than consent exists for the processing. The FTC Act is relevant to the adequacy of disclosure of this term to consumers. 2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The perpetual irrevocable nature of the comment license is operationally significant for users who later request content deletion, particularly in jurisdictions with statutory deletion rights. The practical enforcement of this clause against EU or California users may be constrained by applicable data protection law. 3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU and UK users operating under GDPR and UK GDPR may have the right to request erasure of personal data contained in comments, which may conflict with GM's asserted perpetual irrevocable license. California residents may have analogous rights under CCPA. Legal teams should assess whether this clause is enforceable against users in these jurisdictions. 4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: The irrevocable nature of the license means GM and its successors or sublicensees retain rights to comment content indefinitely. Due diligence in any corporate transaction involving gm.com should account for the scope of perpetual licenses over user-generated textual content. 5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should evaluate whether the distinction between perpetual comment licenses and terminable video licenses is adequately disclosed to users at the point of content submission. A review of deletion request workflows should confirm how GM operationally handles requests to remove comment content and whether the perpetual license is asserted in response to such requests.
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This provision distinguishes the treatment of User Comments from User Videos: while the video license terminates within a commercially reasonable time after removal, the comment license has no termination mechanism. This creates a permanent grant of rights over textual content submitted to the site.
Under this clause, any textual comment submitted to gm.com is licensed to GM on a permanent and irrevocable basis, meaning users cannot withdraw the license for comment content regardless of whether they delete their account or request removal of the comment.
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