Google · Google Terms of Service · View original document ↗

Intellectual Property Rights in Google Services

Medium severity Unique · 0 of 343 platforms
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Recent governance activity Google recorded 4 documented changes in the last 30 days.
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This analysis describes what Google'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

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision establishes the scope and boundaries of the license grant, defining what uses of Google's software and services are authorized and which activities constitute unauthorized uses. The restriction on reverse-engineering and source code extraction protects Google's proprietary technology from being disassembled or reproduced.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium Jun 12, 2026

The updated terms establish that Google provides services 'using reasonable skill and care,' a positive warranty commitment that replaces the prior blanket 'AS IS' disclaimer language. Under the revised policy, if service quality falls below that standard, users are invited to report the issue and Google commits to working toward resolution. The terms now state that Google's only commitments are those in the warranty section, service-specific terms, and non-waivable law, which is narrower than the prior language but more explicit about what consumers can expect. This change provides a clearer operational standard for service delivery and a stated pathway for addressing failures.

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Medium May 5, 2026

The updated terms state that Google provides services using 'reasonable skill and care' rather than disclaiming warranties entirely under 'as is' language. Previously, the terms disclaimed all warranties except those explicitly stated in service-specific terms. The revised language now acknowledges that both law and the terms give users rights to a certain quality of service and ways to fix problems if things go wrong. The terms establish a process in which users are expected to notify Google if service quality falls short, and Google commits to working with users to resolve the issue. This represents a shift from a liability-limiting warranty structure to one that acknowledges affirmative quality obligations.

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Medium Apr 19, 2026

The updated terms materially reduce service quality commitments. The revised language replaces Google's prior commitment to provide services using "reasonable skill and care" with an explicit as-is disclaimer stating that services are provided "without any express or implied warranties" unless stated in service-specific terms. The updated terms now explicitly apply to all users whether signed in to a Google account or not, extending their scope. Google also clarifies that its Privacy Policy applies to service use. These changes establish that users have fewer contractual recourse options if services fail to function as expected, except where service-specific additional terms or applicable law provide otherwise.

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Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
3
Months Monitored
Apr 18, 2026
First Seen
Apr 18, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 165 other provisions on other platforms.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Users receive a limited license permitting use of Google's services as offered, but are prohibited from modifying, distributing, or reverse-engineering the underlying software. Users who wish to engage in these restricted activities must obtain written permission from Google.

How other platforms handle this

Ford Medium

The content on this site, including but not limited to text, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, interactive features, and the like and the trademarks, service marks and logos contained therein, are owned by or licensed to Ford, subject to copyright and other intellectual pro...

Meta Ads Medium

Advertisers must have all necessary rights and permissions to use content in their ads, including intellectual property rights. Ads must not infringe upon or violate the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other personal or proprietary rights.

Threads Medium

You own the content you create and share on Threads and the other Meta Products... However, when you share or post content, you give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, ...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
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.

— Excerpt from Google's Google Terms of Service

Applicable regulations

DMCA
United States Federal

Provision details

Document information
Document
Google Terms of Service
Entity
Google
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 12, 2026
Last verified
May 12, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002693
Document ID
CA-D-00014
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
dc26d482785d45e61dbe747d648713a0c38af8f5f56712021116bdb277984fb9
Analysis generated
May 12, 2026 11:49 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Google
Document: Google Terms of Service
Record ID: CA-P-002693
Captured: 2026-05-12 11:49:36 UTC
SHA-256: dc26d482785d45e6…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/google/google-terms-of-service/intellectual-property-rights-in-google-services/
Accessed: June 21, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Google's Intellectual Property Rights in Google Services clause do?

This provision establishes the scope and boundaries of the license grant, defining what uses of Google's software and services are authorized and which activities constitute unauthorized uses. The restriction on reverse-engineering and source code extraction protects Google's proprietary technology from being disassembled or reproduced.

How does this clause affect you?

Users receive a limited license permitting use of Google's services as offered, but are prohibited from modifying, distributing, or reverse-engineering the underlying software. Users who wish to engage in these restricted activities must obtain written permission from Google.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Google?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google.