Google · Google Terms of Service

Intellectual Property Rights in Google Services

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What it is

Google gives you a limited personal right to use its software, but you cannot copy, modify, sell, or reverse-engineer any Google product or service.

Change history

added Apr 18, 2026

Establishes explicit limitations on user rights to Google's proprietary software and explicitly prohibits reverse-engineering.

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Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Users cannot legally reverse-engineer Google software to understand how it works, audit it for privacy issues, or create interoperable tools — limiting transparency and user autonomy.

Cross-platform context

See how other platforms handle Intellectual Property Rights in Google Services and similar clauses.

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

These restrictions limit what you can do with Google's products and could affect security researchers, developers, or users who want to audit or modify software they rely on.

View original clause language
Google gives you a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable and non-exclusive license to use the software provided to you by Google as part of the services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling you to use and enjoy the benefit of the services as provided by Google, in the manner permitted by these terms. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our services or included software, nor may you reverse-engineer or attempt to extract the source code of that software, unless laws prohibit those restrictions or you have our written permission.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision implicates the EU Software Directive (2009/24/EC) Art. 6, which guarantees limited reverse engineering rights for interoperability purposes regardless of contractual restrictions. The EU Interoperability Act and Digital Markets Act (DMA) impose additional obligations on Google as a designated gatekeeper to enable interoperability. US Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. §1201 (DMCA anti-circumvention) and §117 govern software use rights. EU Cyber Resilience Act may further affect restrictions on security research.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has authority over anticompetitive practices that restrict software interoperability and consumer choice, relevant if IP restrictions are used to foreclose competition.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Google Terms of Service
Entity
Google
Document last updated
March 24, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 18, 2026
Last verified
April 18, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002693
Document ID
CA-D-00014
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
81bad7a48cbda269ec755a2db3e7859d4e495415ccae4e0ab45d0bc0d060e7fb
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Google | Document: Google Terms of Service | Record: CA-P-002693
Captured: 2026-04-18 08:20:09 UTC | SHA-256: 81bad7a48cbda269…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/google/google-terms-of-service/intellectual-property-rights-in-google-services/
Accessed: April 29, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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