Changes are afoot at Google’s Video service, with some tweaks and twists to the terms of service that hint tantalizingly at a payment-based download service.
From Garett Rogers excellent blog on all things Google comes his observations on updates to Google Video’s lengthy rules about what can and can’t be done with the service.
After logging in to Google Video with a Google account, one must agree to the terms of service. As Rogers pointed out, these new terms contain language pertaining to the “sale or rental of copies” of videos uploaded to the service. That language is not present in the Use of Content terms available from the upload section of Google Video.
Also, users agreeing to the new terms now give Google the right to “display Your Authorized Content via streaming and/or downloading technologies.” That’s a significant change from the existing terms that forbid downloading video content.
The new terms account for payment options and vastly expand on them. Google will send along earned balances of $100 or greater after each calendar quarter, which also means they’ll have to have a way to collect those payments.
It could be a simple expansion of the way they accept payments for AdWords, or it could be the introduction of the long-rumored Google Payments program, to compete with PayPal.
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David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
