Google Glass Owners Are Not Allowed To Sell Or Share The Device

Google PlusJust because you were deemed worthy to spend $1,500 to be one of the first people to own Google Glass, doesn't mean you can do what you want with it.

Google is expressly forbidding Glass owners from selling or even loaning the device to someone else, reports David Kravets and Roberto Baldwin at Wired. They spotted this in the company’s terms of service for Glass:

“You may not resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person. If you resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person without Google’s authorization, Google reserves the right to deactivate the device, and neither you nor the unauthorized person using the device will be entitled to any refund, product support, or product warranty.”

Google knows who is using the device because each Glass must be used with a Google account. So if the device switches accounts, Google could deactivate it.

It's clear that Google is trying to prevent commercial resale of Google Glass, particularly now, when Google isn't allowing just anyone to buy one. It's less clear how this will play out once Glass is generally available to everyone, expected by 2014. UPDATE: Google tells us that the current terms of service are specifically for its Glass Explorer Edition program.

In the meantime, if you see a Glass on eBay, you might want to think twice before buying it.