While these TOS do state ownership and IP stay with the contributor (paragraph 9.4) the agreement does grant Google a perpetual license to use the content however they feel, forever (paragraph 11.1) and they can share the content with other companies (11.2).

The “Terms of Service Highlights” (http://www.google.com/accounts/tos/highlights/utos-us-en-h.html) puts a softer picture on the above, but I presume a lawyer would not take those to court.

So it’s fine and dandy that Google responded but in reality the terms they had originally in play would have given them ownership of all content displayed through the browser, regardless of where it came from. Not enforceable.

Ignoring the poor judgment that issuing such TOS might be, the real question is do I really want to allow Google perpetual access to my content and allow them to do with it what they will? As an individual, I might be less concerned. As a business however it might make me think about whether I use their office product or gmail, especially if they can share it with other companies.

A later article on this site commented on Cloud Computing. Google represents a material player in that realm. I suspect a TOS like this might put a crimp on adoption, may be just before the security, reliability, and functionality.

[I'm not a lawyer; read the sections for yourself]