Fedora and Google search: the final report

[Greg DeKoenigsberg]

This represents my final report on this matter.  My conclusion: it's not 
practical to pursue a relationship between Fedora and Google at this time, 
for the following reasons:

1. RED HAT BEARS THE LEGAL RISKS FOR FEDORA.

As much as Red Hat has worked to create an independent governance model 
for the Fedora Project, in the final analysis, Fedora is a property of Red 
Hat.  This means that any deal made between Fedora and a third party 
*must* be agreed upon by Red Hat legal.

2. THE BOILERPLATE CONTACT FOR GOOGLE'S CUSTOM SEARCH ENGINE (CSE) IS TOO 
RISKY FOR RED HAT LEGAL TO ACCEPT.

The terms and conditions for the Google CSE program 
(http://www.google.com/coop/docs/cse/tos.html) are pretty onerous.  The 
biggest sticking point for Red Hat lawyers is Section 5, in which Google 
demands unlimited indemnification.  Negotiations to resolve this clause 
have been unsuccessful.

3. MECHANISMS LIKE THE FIREFOX SEARCH BAR ARE SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED FROM 
THE GOOGLE CSE.

It seems like there are two potential sources of revenue for Fedora in 
Firefox: the start page (which would probably be low dollar) and the 
search bar (which would probably be high dollar).  In actuality, though, 
the search bar is *specifically* excluded from the Google CSE agreement, 
in section 1.4, Appropriate Conduct.  Quote: "You shall not, and shall not 
allow any third party to: ... (f) directly or indirectly access, launmch 
and/or activate the Service through or from, or otherwise incorporate the 
Service in, any Web site or other means other than the Site, and then only 
to the extent expressly permitted herein."  Which means that unless we 
negotiate a deal with Google directly, we can't use the search bar to 
generate revenue at all.

So that's it.  There are no simple avenues to pursue at this point, which 
means that we are now open to pursue other options (wikia, fedorasearch 
being the two I like best).  We should also consider whether we want to 
change the default search to use these, which might require a break from 
the Firefox brand.

--g

-- 
Greg DeKoenigsberg
Community Development Manager
Red Hat, Inc. :: 1-919-754-4255
"To whomsoever much hath been given...
...from him much shall be asked"