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by driusan 3401 days ago
"This is the official list of people who can contribute (and typically have contributed) code to the Upspin repository. The AUTHORS file lists the copyright holders; this file lists people. For example, Google employees are listed here but not in AUTHORS, because Google holds the copyright."
1 comments

There is a difference between "a Google Product" and "Code to which Google holds copyright". Most importantly, the latter may include all code written by any Google Employee during their employment.
There is a difference but it is only interesting once you get really close like in a lawsuit IMO.

Google has copyright on the code and runs the infrastructure?

Very much a Google product to me. Paid or not. Official or not.

But it makes a philosophical difference to the involvement of the company, of the people working on it and also a practical difference, because products and non-products have very different launch-requirements. You are perceiving Google as far more monolithic, than it really is; the difference between a product and a non-product is how different employees of the company interact. To the outside world, that might or might not have any meaning. But I feel for the original comment that I replied to, it does.
From the docs:

> Terms of Service

> The Upspin website (the “Website”) is hosted by Google. By using and/or visiting the Website, you consent to be bound by Google’s general Terms of Service and Google’s general Privacy Policy.

Really a shame.