Yesterday I wrote about how I had received what was effectively a ‘cease and desist’ order from Google over the use of Google Checkout to accept payments for donationware produced by MMISoftware – see previous post.

Well, today I got a reply from Google….

The reply said:

From: Google Checkout <checkout-support@google.com>
Subject: Re: [#591727119] Google Checkout Notification
Date: 2 February 2010 05:14:32 GMT
To: nick@mmisoftware.co.uk

Hello Nick, 

Thank you for your email and for providing more 
information regarding your Google Checkout merchant 
account. We have reviewed the further details and
can confirm your account is active. We also recommend
you to change the word 'donation' inorder to transact 
through Google Checkout for supporting software development.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation.

For general product or account questions, please review 
our Help Centre at

http://checkout.google.com/support/sell/?hl=en-GB.

Alternatively, please do not hesitate to contact me by
replying to this email. 


Kind regards, 

Aliuddin 
The Google Checkout Team 

Google Payment Ltd is authorised and regulated by the 
Financial Services Authority. 

Google Payment Ltd is a company registered in England 
and Wales with company number 5903713. Its registered 
address is Belgrave House, 76
Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9TQ.

So, there you have it. Google does allow Google Checkout to be used with donationware as long as the word ‘donation’ is not mentioned.

Now, admittedly this may be a UK quirk, and this may not apply to the rest of the world, but judging by their “Unacceptable product categories” (see earlier post), I would guess it does.

All I need to do is remove the word ‘donation’ from the page and I can put Google Checkout back as an option…

According the the Apple Thesaurus I could use:

“gift, contribution, present, pledge, handout, grant, offering; formal benefaction; historical alms”

I think I will go with ‘contribution’.

Update: There is an update to this story at: previous post

Today I received what was effectively a ‘cease and desist’ order (shown below) from Google over the use of Google Checkout to accept payments for donationware produced by MMISoftware.

MMISoftware produces two programs, PhotoGPSEditor and PhotoInfoEditor, that are donationware. These programs have been available for a number of years, and are supported by users through donations, hence they are donationware.

A donationware program is one that is essentially free. It can be used for free with full functionality, and if a user likes it they can make a donation to help support development.

However, it appears that Google will not allow Google Checkout to be used for this. This seems rather odd. Why doesn’t Google support a recognised model of software distribution?

As Google says on their website under “Unacceptable product categories”:

Fund solicitations:

Donation solicitations from parties without a valid tax 
exempt status, indicating their registration with the Charity 
Commission of England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish 
Charity Regulator or exemption from the HMRC, clearly 
displayed to the public

Well, I am not a charity, and personally I didn’t think donationware fell in to that category as it is a recognised model of software distribution and support. It just uses the word donation.

Anyway, I have emailed Google seeking clarification of the situation. I will post any response I get.

The email:

From: Google Checkout <checkout-support@google.com>
Subject: [#591727119] Google Checkout Notification
Date: 1 February 2010 07:14:02 GMT
To: sales@mmisoftware.co.uk

Hello Nick, 

During a recent review, we found that your website accepts 
donations. In accordance with Google Checkout policies
(https://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?
answer=75724&hl=en_GB),you may only use Google Checkout 
to process donations if your business isregistered with 
the Charity Commission of England and Wales, the Office of
the Scottish Charity Regulator or by Her Majesty's Revenue 
and Customs (HMRC) and clearly displays the registered 
charity number on your website.

It appears that your business is not registered with the
Charity Commission of England and Wales, the Office of 
the Scottish Charity Regulator or by Her Majesty's Revenue 
and Customs (HMRC). As a result, your pending donation orders 
have been cancelled.

Although you may continue using Google Checkout for other
products or services that conform with our policies, you 
must remove Google Checkout from any donations area of your 
website. Once you have updated your website accordingly, 
please reply to this message so we can confirm the changes.

If you would like to accept donations using Google Checkout,
please display a valid charity registration number on your 
website, then reply to this message so we can confirm the 
changes.

For general product or account questions, please review
our Help Centre at

http://checkout.google.com/support/sell/?hl=en-GB.

Alternatively, please do not hesitate to contact me by 
replying to this email. 


Kind regards, 

Aliuddin 
The Google Checkout Team 

Google Payment Ltd is authorised and regulated by the 
Financial Services Authority. 

Google Payment Ltd is a company registered in England 
and Wales with company number 5903713. Its registered 
address is Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, 
London SW1W 9TQ.

Update: There is an update to this story at: previous post

Just a quick note to say that MMISoftware has added another option to allow users of PhotoInfoEditor and PhotoGPSEditor to make donations to support the development of (PhotoInfoEditor Donation | PhotoGPSEditor Donation).

The new ‘option’ is Google Checkout, which was launched in the UK last week.

The Google Checkout at PhotoInfoEditor Donation

Basically, all you have to do is select the ‘donation’ level from the drop-down menu and then click the button. It is not possible (as far as I can see) to allow users to set the amount to donate, and it all has to be in pounds (£). I would prefer to allow the ‘donator’ to set the amount, and for the price to be in US dollars ($).

If you want to donate in US dollars ($) then try the PayPal option on the donation pages (PhotoInfoEditor Donation | PhotoGPSEditor Donation)

PhotoInfoEditor and PhotoGPSEditor are freeware programs from MMISoftware – continued development can be supported by making donations (PhotoInfoEditor Donation | PhotoGPSEditor Donation), or purchases at the MMISoftware GPS and camera stores.

Both programs are available for download: