In recent weeks on the web it is spoken a lot about the news of the launch of Wolfram Alpha , the new semantic computational knowledge engine.

After months of waiting, many (including myself) were quick to try what has already been defined as the main rival of Google .

Obviously you will not find reviews or " tests on the field "by Wolfram (of which the Internet is already full) that consider vices and virtues of the new search engine.

A lawyer, in addition to the features (which to my eye does not seem very promising technically, although for the time limited in the legal field) I was most interested to read the terms of service (step usually completely ignored, especially by users of Italian language because the conditions are in English) since the use of Wolfram Alpha implies automatic acceptance of them. The first peculiarity is that the link to the terms of use is already on the home page of Wolfram Alpha, we find nothing like it on the home page of Google, whose terms of service are not as "out".

The terms of use Wolfram Alpha (available here ) are dutifully long, and there are some clauses of the rite, the result of the zeal of counsel, as one that involves the need of age (or, failing that, the consent of parents or teachers) to use the service, and one for which Wolfram is not liable for the accuracy of information provided.

There are others, however, the terms on which it is pinned to my attention and that you point out, since it is desirable to know them before you put the results obtained with the new search engine in a presentation or a publication.

(Word cloud of "Terms of use" of Wolfram Alpha obtained on wordle.net )

In particular (as is already known from the image above) in the license you pay much attention to copyright, more than they devote the "terms of service" of the other search engines, which reflects the particular nature of Wolfram Alpha not is a normal search engine .

Attribution and Licensing

As Wolfram | Alpha is an authoritative source of information, Maintaining the integrity of the ITS data and the computations we do With That date is vital to the success of our project. We generated information Ourselves, and We also gather, compare, contrast, and confirm data from multiple external sources. Where we have used external sources of data we list the source or sources we relied on, but in most cases the assemblages of data you get from Wolfram | Alpha Directly do not come from any one external source. In many cases the date you are never shown before in Existed Exactly That Way until you asked for it, I know ITS Both provenance traces back to underlying data sources and algorithms and to the knowledge built into the Wolfram | Alpha computational system. Such as, the results you get from Wolfram | Alpha are Correctly Attributed to Wolfram | Alpha itself.

Consequently, if the Wolfram's search results are inserted into documents or presentations, you have to indicate explicitly that the data comes from Wolfram Alpha. Since some results indicate the copyright of third parties that provide the data, it is forbidden to remove or obscure those powers. The license is required, where possible, to insert a link to Wolfram (preferably to the search page).

This clause is given great importance, since it is stated that the non-attribution of results to Wolfram will be considered not only a violation of the terms of use, but a true violation of the laws on copyright.

The rules just enunciated will apply to all uses so-called "personal" on the contrary, for the uses for profit you will require a special license that may apply.

The obsession with copyright, typical of our times, also means that should include a clause concerning the possible presence, in the results obtained with Wolfram Alpha, data that violates the rights of third parties.

Reporting Incorrect or infringing Material

If you find something in Wolfram | Alpha That you believe to be in violation of copyright or other right That You Personally hold, we want to know so we can correct the problem. Please use the feedback form at the bottom of material That's page to tell us where the material is, and why you think it is infringing.

Evidently also the writer of this license is afraid of incurring legal action with exorbitant claims for damages and, therefore, think that the copyright as an effective instrument for the protection of rights has become cumbersome obstacle to the dissemination of knowledge