Should API terms sit inside the main service terms?

Either works. Many providers keep them separate because the audience is different — developers rather than buyers — and because the interface changes on its own rhythm.

What does a deprecation policy usually promise?

A period of notice before an endpoint or a version stops working, and often a documented migration path. It is a commercial commitment written into the terms rather than a legal requirement.

Can developers store the data they retrieve?

Only as far as the terms allow. Papers of this kind commonly permit caching for performance while prohibiting building a competing dataset, and say which is which.

Software and platforms

API terms of use

The terms under which somebody else's software is allowed to call yours. They cover credentials and who may hold them, rate limits and fair use, what may be built on top and what may not, what happens to data pulled through the interface, and — the section everybody reads twice — the circumstances in which access can be suspended or the interface changed. Because integrations become load-bearing quickly, deprecation notice is usually written down rather than left to goodwill.

In the catalogue: Software and platforms
Where it can live: Any of the 184 governing laws

Who uses one

Platforms opening an interface to third-party developers.
Companies whose customers integrate directly with their systems.
Businesses publishing data or functionality for others to build on.

What you are deciding

Who may register, and what a key permits
Rate limits and what happens when they are exceeded
What may be built, and what is prohibited
What may be done with data retrieved through the interface
Whether the data may be stored, cached or resold
Attribution and branding rules
Notice given before breaking changes or deprecation
When access may be suspended or withdrawn

Blanks you leave stay blank and wait in the room. Nothing is filled in from a guess.

The sections a draft usually has

1Acceptance and eligibility
2Credentials and account security
3Licence to use the interface
4Rate limits and fair use
5Restrictions
6Data handling
7Attribution and branding
8Changes and deprecation
9Suspension and termination
10Disclaimers and liability

A general outline, not a required one. What turns up in a draft follows what you described. A contract is written in the order a contract is read.

What people call it

The names this kind of paper goes by. They are here because people search for them. They also filter the catalogue. They are not a wordlist the door matches. At the composer you describe the deal in your own words instead.

api terms
api terms of use
developer terms
api licence agreement
platform developer agreement
integration terms

Questions people ask

Should API terms sit inside the main service terms?: Either works. Many providers keep them separate because the audience is different — developers rather than buyers — and because the interface changes on its own rhythm.
What does a deprecation policy usually promise?: A period of notice before an endpoint or a version stops working, and often a documented migration path. It is a commercial commitment written into the terms rather than a legal requirement.
Can developers store the data they retrieve?: Only as far as the terms allow. Papers of this kind commonly permit caching for performance while prohibiting building a competing dataset, and say which is which.

General answers about the document. Not advice about your situation. Not written about any one country.

Where it lives

A contract names the legal system it is governed by. That is a separate decision from which paper it is. You pick it at the door, from any of the 184 units in Governing law, including England and Wales, Delaware, California and New York.

You do not start from this page. Describe the deal in one sentence at the door. Read the draft back in plain language, in the order a contract is read.

Start it at the door →

Related kinds

All 87 kinds