Developer restricts use of GPL theme and plugin

  • There’s this theme and plugin released under the GNU GPL license. The developers have told me that certain things would get a client’s account banned. Things that I understand are allowed under this license. For instance, you cannot create a ready-made website with this theme and plugin and install it to whoever you please.

    I don’t know much about the GPL license, but I thought that what is allowed to do with WordPress is allowed to do with GPL themes and plugins. Can you confirm this or want to add any comment?

    • This topic was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by benedetti.
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  • Moderator Steven Stern (sterndata)

    (@sterndata)

    Volunteer Forum Moderator

    The argument about whether or not WordPress and its themes and plugins are GPL is not something we’re qualified to debate here. Certainly WordPress is licensed under GPLv2, and all themes and plugins hosted on www.remarpro.com are required to be GPL compatible in their entirety, so you are free to edit and redistribute as you see fit. If code is not licensed as GPLv2 (or later) compatible, we ask that you not bring it up here for discussion.

    In any case, we are not lawyers or GPL experts here. If you have doubts about the terms of a particular theme and or plugin that’s not from www.remarpro.com, then you need to decide whether you want to use it.

    Moderator Jan Dembowski

    (@jdembowski)

    Forum Moderator and Brute Squad

    Just to chime in and then leave this topic closed: GPL permits you to do anything with WordPress software and themes/plugins for WordPress. GPL is considered a viral license meaning that something coming from GPL code must remain GPL’ed. You can’t make a WordPress theme or plugin and impose restrictions on that code.

    https://ma.tt/2015/07/licenses-going-dutch/
    https://markjaquith.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/why-wordpress-themes-are-derivative-of-wordpress/

    Themes are GPL, too

    There are some restrictions such as you must maintain credit and you must maintain the conditions above but GPL code is free. No one can prevent the distribution or modification of GPL code.

    If you do distribute it then you must make the source code available.

    *Re-reads*

    That’s all I wanted to add. Closing topic again.

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