UPDATE: I have the answer in the comments below. Thanks Toby!

Well maybe not horribly organised, but it fits their acronym. After releasing their API there was a general wow around the web about how Yahoo! was (getting) better than Google.

I thought this would be great; I could use Yahoo to power the search for a site I was working on. However, their terms clearly say ‘non-commercial’. Great, as a Government agency, we are clearly not commercial. There is even case law to back this opinion up.

However, I thought I’d check with Yahoo for their interpretation, just so that all of the ‘i’s are dotted and ‘t’s crossed. They didn’t respond to the first email I sent two weeks ago so I tried again. There response was weird; they tried to sell me advertising. I’ve written back trying to get a definite answer, but no response.

I know I’m just a small fish in a huge sea, so I understand that they can’t answer everything immediately, but a simple yes/no answer should be relatively easy for them. In their FAQs they have an email address specifically for this.

This is what I sent them:

Hi,

I am investigating different search options for a Website I am
developing for a small New Zealand Government agency.  Can you please
tell me if using your APIs on a government site is considered
non-commercial?

Thanks

Joe Lindsay

And their response (within 24 hours):

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in commercial use of the Yahoo! Search Web
Services. Although the Yahoo! Search Developer Network is currently
licensing the Yahoo! Search Technology solely for non-commercial use, we
are evaluating future commercial offerings.  In the mean time, please
share with us your ideas on the types of commercial licensing models
that would work best for your applications and business.

If you are a high volume customer, Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions
(formerly Overture) offers commercial licensing that may serve your
needs.  If you are interested in obtaining a commercial license, please
visit us at  http://www.content.overture.com/d/USm/ps/po.jhtml.

You are also welcome to use our SDK and APIs to develop a non-production
internal prototype of a commercial application using Yahoo! Search
Technology, and Yahoo! Search Marketing Solutions would be happy to
review it when discussing your interest in a commercial relationship.

Thank you again for your interest, and we look forward to working with
you.

Sincerely,

The Yahoo! Search Team

So I wrote back

Hi,

Thanks for the response.  However, it doesn't actually answer the question.

The question is over your interpretation of 'non-commercial' in your
API terms of use.  According to case law in New Zealand, because we
are a Government agency that is not established (in fact not allowed)
to make a profit, we are considered non-commercial.  I would like to
know if this interpretation is consistent with your terms of use, and
we can use the API for a public web site we are developing.

The number of serches that we generate are low, about xxxxxx per day.

Thanks

Joe

So far I have not had another response. I wait with bated breath