Program Policy

iGoogle themes are a fun, new way for people to customize and express themselves on iGoogle. To help you create the highest-quality themes possible while ensuring a positive experience for our users, we’ve created this guidelines for themes creation. Your themes must adhere to these Do’s and Don’ts before they can appear on iGoogle. We reserve the right to disapprove any theme for any reason.

Contents

1. Specifications
2. Branding Standards
3. Content Standards
4. Image and Content Relevance
5. Violations of the Program Policies

Specifications

Do make your theme the correct size, resolution, and configuration.

All iGoogle themes must appear on the top section of the iGoogle page, but below the universal Google bar. In addition, your theme should stick to the following specifications:

• Header dimension and file size: Should be 175 pixels high, at least 640 pixels wide, and not exceed 40 kb for loading speed.
• Footer dimension and file size: Should be 140 pixels high, at least 640 pixels wide, and not exceed 20 kb for loading speed.
• Resolution: Your theme should be configured to be easily re-sized and maintain its proportion as the browser window changes.

Do make sure your text and images are high quality.

Images and text in themes must be clear and recognizable, never blurry.

Don’t remove or reposition the search box and standard iGoogle links.

The search box and related links may not be moved or removed from the iGoogle page.

Branding Standards

Don’t remove, distort, or modify the size, font, or position of the iGoogle logo.

We’re proud of our logo and work hard to protect it. That’s why we require that the iGoogle logo be present in your theme. You may not remove or distort the logo, or change its size, font, or position. The logo should also:

• Be clearly legible and visible so that it stands out against the background.
• Be an approved iGoogle logo.
• Remain in its natural horizontal state, and not be rotated.

Don’t misuse the iGoogle trademark.

Treat the word “iGoogle” as you would a logo, following these simple guidelines:

• Review Google's Trademark Guidelines for more information on the use of Google's trademarks.
• Don’t use it as a verb, adjective, or noun.
• Don’t translate it into any language other than English.
• Don’t modify it through hyphenation, combination, or abbreviation.
• Don’t shorten or abbreviate it, or turn it into an acronym.

Do place any design attribution, including trademarks (logo and/or name), in the designated area.

If you would like to include an attribution--like your name, signature, or logo--in your theme, please do so in the designated attribution area we've provided. Feel free to place your name or any trademarks or logos that you own or are authorized to use in this space. This is the only part of the theme where you may show your logo or trademark. The attribution area is 50 pixels by 100 pixels in the top right corner of the footer.

Signatures may be included outside of the attribution area, but they may not be larger than 200 square pixels and have to be at least 50 pixels away from the iGoogle logo, search box, and links.

Do follow proper trademark standards.

Trademarks are important business assets that decrease in value when used incorrectly. When creating your theme, keep in mind that you are fully responsible for your theme’s content and for adhering to our Terms and Conditions, which prohibit intellectual property infringement.

Content Standards

Do create content that can be enjoyed by all users.

To ensure that all users enjoy our product, we’ve developed a set of program policies for themes. Under the policies, a theme may not display (via text or images) or link to:

• Illegal content.
• Invasions of personal privacy.
• Content that interferes with the functioning of the homepage.
• Promotions of hate or incitement of violence.
• Violations of intellectual property rights, including copyright (see DMCA policy).
• Any material not suitable for persons under 18.
• Pornography or obscenity.
• Nudity, sexual activity, and/or mature sexual themes.
• Crude or indecent language.
• Adwords or other advertisements (apart from your logo in the attributions area).

In addition, themes may not be distributed on third party pages.

Image and Content Relevance

Don’t mimic system functionality or warnings.

We never want to confuse or mislead iGoogle users, so we require that themes:

• Don’t pretend to be a system or site warning.
• Don’t mimic or resemble Windows/Mac/Unix dialogue boxes or error messages.
• Don’t have mock animated features, such as drop down menus or search boxes, unless the functionality actually works.

Violations of the Program Policies

Violations of our Program Policies can result in the disabling of your theme, removal of your theme, being blacklisted from uploading future gadgets and themes, termination of your Google accounts, and/or deletion of all your gadgets and themes.

These policies may be revised from time to time without notice.

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