Presumably therefore they would be perfectly OK with their plugin being resold or re-distributed in the manner discussed above since their value is mostly in support.įor those not very familiar with the GPL and what it entails, here’s a video from Matt Mullenweg himself, in which he explains the GPL and its ramifications in simple terms.
No fees are charged for the GPL software license and its freedoms attributed to this software.”
“Licenses sold for WPtouch Pro are for support + product updates only. It is not unethical for you to do these things so long as you do them within the confines of what’s allowed by the license.”īraveNewCode, makers of the super-popular WPtouch Pro plugin (licences available in the range of $49 – $999), state on their website: Just in case that wasn’t enough, I’m giving you or anyone who wants to do so permission right now. I gave you permission to do so by placing it under the GPL license. “The act of copying my themes, making no changes, and selling them is perfectly fine. Here’s what Justin Tadlock, a very prominent theme and plugin developer in the WP Community, says about the subject: I’ve also done some more reading about this myself and dug up some interesting snippets.
You will find strong opinions both in favour and against in the WordPress community. Isn’t it bad for customers that some of these companies operate anonymously?.Are these companies sustainable, how long will they be around?.What kind of support can such reselling companies offer?.
How will we make sure end users know that they need to make this decision between buying from the original developer or a third party?.Is it ethical to profit in such a way on another developer’s hard work?.We’re not talking about ripware sites here, but rather of new and real businesses built solely on the selling of products which they themselves did not develop. I’m talking about the WordPress plugin stores that are cropping up and selling plugins developed by other people. I’m lately seeing a small surge in the number of people who are taking advantage of the GPL in what many consider an unethical way. It has permitted WordPress to become what it is today, and have such a wonderful community form around it. The GPL licence, which is the foundation of WordPress and all plugins in the WordPress repository, is a great license, no doubt.