Apparently, it's legal to redistribute paid-for plugins?

by RonnyRaygun

Posted: 12 years ago 14 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I had a look at this link :WordPress › About » License

After reading the referenced drupal link, I have come to the conclusion that premium plugins can be resold while conforming to the license.

From the wordpress site (WordPress › About » License)

Part of this license outlines requirements for derivative works, such as plugins or themes. Derivatives of WordPress code inherit the GPL license. Drupal, which has the same GPL license as WordPress, has an excellent page on licensing as it applies to themes and modules (their word for plugins).

From the drupal site: Licensing FAQ | drupal.org (Emphasis added)

8: If I write a module or theme, do I have to give it away to everyone?

No. The GPL requires that if you make a derivative work of Drupal and distribute it to someone else, you must provide that person with the source code under the terms of the GPL so that they may modify and redistribute it under the terms of the GPL as well. However, you are under no obligation to distribute the code to anyone else. If you do not distribute the code but use it only within your organization, then you are not required to distribute it to anyone at all.
However, if your module is of general use then it is often a good idea to contribute it back to the community anyway. You can get feedback, bug reports, and new feature patches from others who find it useful.

9: Is it permitted for me to sell Drupal or a Drupal module or a Drupal theme?

Yes. However, you must distribute it under the GPL version 2 or later, so those you sell it to must be allowed to modify and redistribute it as well. See questions 6 and 7 above.

Those two sections marked in red suggest that if I purchase a plugin, and receive the source code, I am allowed to turn around and resell that plugin after a modification.

Can some lawyers / legally-minded warrior chime in on this? Maybe I'm misinterpreting it.

#apparently #legal #paidfor #plugins #redistribute

Premier Plugins

12 years ago

Pretty interesting.

I've never heard of any plugin vendors giving their source code with a product sale. Look forward to additional information on this topic also.

Thanks
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RonnyRaygun

12 years ago

If you send a zip file with the plugin in it, you have sent the source code.

PHP files (the primary language of plugins) are the source code.

At least according to this:

6: The GPL requires that I distribute the "source code" of my files. What does that mean for a web application?

The "source code" of a file means the format that is intended for people to edit. What that means depends on the file in question.

For PHP code, the PHP file itself, without any compression or obfuscation, is its own source code. Note that for Drupal, template files are PHP code.
For JavaScript code, the JavaScript file itself, without any compression or obfuscation, is its own source code.
For CSS code, the CSS file itself, without any compression or obfuscation, is its own source code.
For images, the "source code" varies. Depending on the image, that could mean the production version of the file as a PNG or GIF, or an original high-resolution JPG, or a Photoshop, Illustrator, or GIMP file. The "source code" is whichever version is intended to be edited by people.
For Flash files, the source code is the editable FLA and AS files, and any other files needed to build the final SWF. The SWF file itself is the "object code" version, not the source version.

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Paul Myers 12 years ago

Be really careful with this. It's quite possible for some parts of a theme to be open source and other parts to be copyrighted.

Proceed at your own risk.

Paul
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webapex

12 years ago

Derivative work is key here, someone would I believe have to copy and modify wordpress source code to have created derivative work, writing a plugin to work with the Wordpress plugin API would not seem to be subject to the GPL.

Some ancient copyright trivia: The get around copyright law the first PC clones were made by hiring 2 software teams, one operating in a "clean room" decompiled the ROM based core code from the original (Compac?) PC converting it into a written spec. While the second team independently created rom code that provided the functionality the spec sheet required.

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RonnyRaygun

12 years ago

On the wordpress page:

There is some legal grey area regarding what is considered a derivative work, but we feel strongly that plugins and themes are derivative work and thus inherit the GPL license. If you disagree, you might want to consider a non-GPL platform such as Serendipity (BSD license) or Habari (Apache license) instead.

I suspect if you develop a wordpress plugin, you are agreeing to this aspect of Wordpress' license interpretation.

Again, it's a very gray area. There are a number of warriors here whose living is derived from selling plugins. I am thinking of becoming one of them, but these terms are making me consider stand-alone products instead.

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Leo Wadsworth 12 years ago

It gets into a very grey area. If the plugin modifies code that is under GPL, then it inherits the GPL license. HOWEVER, it only needs to distribute freely the code that has been modified. Fresh new code does not need to be under the same license, and I would be very surprised to find ANY paid-for plugin where they put their own code under the GPL.

Bottom line - unless you have paid for the privilege, you do NOT have the rights to redistribute a paid-for plugin. You have a license to use it. That license can even stipulate that you have to buy a copy of the plugin for every copy of WordPress you run it on.
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- RonnyRaygun 12 years ago
  
  That's a bit of a catch-22.
  
  You can't know if a plugin is changing GPL-ed code without seeing the source.
  
  I've been looking for case law interpreting these types of clauses, and nothing substantial has come up.
  
  Thanks
  
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tecHead 12 years ago

I would suggest changing your thinking and just using a plug-in as a jump off point as opposed to the end point.

No matter how well you navigate murky waters you're bound to run into something you didn't see due to the murk.
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- RonnyRaygun 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by tecHead
  
  I would suggest changing your thinking and just using a plug-in as a jump off point as opposed to the end point.
  
  I'm interpreting this to mean putting the plugin sale toward the front of the sales funnel as opposed to toward the back?
  
  What else can be added to fill out the funnel?
  
  Thanks
  
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  tecHead 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by RonnyRaygun
  
  I'm interpreting this to mean putting the plugin sale toward the front of the sales funnel as opposed to toward the back?
  
  There ya go. Think outside of the box everyone else is in
  
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Simmeon 12 years ago

Risky Business! It sounds like a grey area not worth exploring.
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AdwordsMogul 12 years ago

The fact that you won't be prosecuted for doing something doesn't mean you should do it. Whilst it is a grey area, common sense should tell you not to proceed with such ventures.

In any case, you might probably end up hurting yourself - how are you going to handle support, and more importantly bug fixes and technical issues in software you don't own the rights to.

The amount of time and money it would cost to figure this out would be better spent on creating an original product.

Nevertheless, I haven't really come across serious problems in this area.
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GuruGazette 12 years ago

Keep in mind: a "plug in" for wordpress can simply be an interface. The actual workhorse part of the code can be stand alone and fully copyrighted.
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SteveJohnson 12 years ago

I am *SO* glad to know that there are so many legally knowledgeable people that frequent the WF.

The simple fact of the matter is that there is little, if any, established case law (if that's even the right term) because the GPL has never been tested in court. Thus, no one knows if it's really legally enforceable or not. At this point, there are too many questions.

I, for one, don't want to become the test case to see if the GPL will stand up...
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