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Reselling Wordpress Themes

by tortoiserun
15 replies
I have a couple of client who are needing a website and this question popped into my head. If I download a wordpress theme, modify a few things, add a logo, would I be able to sell them this website? Is what I'm offering a service or is it a product? Are themes generally protected against my method or is it strictly on a per theme basis? I tried searching for "resale of wordpress themes," but I got bombarded with only regular wordpress theme for sale. If anyone can help me it would be appreciated.
#reselling #themes #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author aizaku
    hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.. depends on the theme. actually it sounds a little sketchy
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    • Profile picture of the author nest
      This depends on the license that the seller of the theme is offering. Just be sure to check with them first. I recommend emailing them directly, because I'm sure they have heard this question before.

      Many theme sellers offer what's called a "Developer" license. This usually means that you can use the theme on multiple sites, for multiple clients. Of course, you'll pay extra for the Developer license, but it's usually worth it if you are going make money from multiple clients At that point, you can charge your clients for the service of modifying and installing the theme.

      Just make sure you play by the rules of the license. If you have questions, ask the person selling the theme. I know someone who had to fork out $50k in a copyright infringement case because he violated a theme license.
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  • Profile picture of the author KayaIsmail
    It's a tricky one.

    Check the theme developers policies first off. However, you COULD merely say that you're selling your service of downloading, installing, setting up, and customising the theme.

    As long as you dont imply that the entire theme is yours, I can't see an issue.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    You might be better off creating a theme with artisteer and then sell it.
    I mean, taking something which is freely available, adding a logo and then selling it..is MORE than sketchy
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  • Profile picture of the author david carr
    Depends on the license but many premium themes and frameworks will allow you to do what you're stating.

    Regards
    Dave
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    • Profile picture of the author Maruelle
      you can sell the websites using those themes but make sure you customize it well, you have to modify that it will look far from the original theme..
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      • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
        Read the small print of everything. But, by default anything built over wordpress is share alike, because wordpress is open source.

        That is, the person that buys from you buys the service, and owns only the content. They do not hold the copyright over the script or the site per se.

        I am not attorney, and this is not legal advice. But if I am right, this holds also over the themes, etc built and sold for wordpress. The only real reason to buy extended licenses is to make the developers happy. Otherwise, they can decide they don´t want to work with you anymore and cut you from security updates.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vimal Gobin
    Many MANY WordPress themes are released under the GNU Public License. This basically allows you to do whatever you want with the them - even resell them for 100x more than what you paid for them.

    Here are a few good reads:
    1. WordPress Themes and GPL - wilwebs.com

    2. http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5458864
    Some people find it unethical. Others say that releasing a theme under the GPL is a choice, and that it's not a loophole to make money using these themes, as the license clearly states that (nearly) everything can be done with the code (including modifying and reselling).

    I'm not a lawyer!
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    • Profile picture of the author mikehuff
      Originally Posted by Vimal Gobin View Post

      Many MANY WordPress themes are released under the GNU Public License. This basically allows you to do whatever you want with the them - even resell them for 100x more than what you paid for them.

      Here are a few good reads:
      1. WordPress Themes and GPL - wilwebs.com

      2. http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5458864
      Some people find it unethical. Others say that releasing a theme under the GPL is a choice, and that it's not a loophole to make money using these themes, as the license clearly states that (nearly) everything can be done with the code (including modifying and reselling).

      I'm not a lawyer!
      I was going to mention this... didn't EBR put out a product awhile back where the basis was just that?
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  • Profile picture of the author thatkeywordguy
    Its a question that has spurred much debate in various wordpress circles. Public domain itself is very intersting law. Lots of famous works to profit from:
    Browsing Public Domain Books / Most Popular (This Month) | Feedbooks
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveJohnson
    Originally Posted by tortoiserun View Post

    I have a couple of client who are needing a website and this question popped into my head. If I download a wordpress theme, modify a few things, add a logo, would I be able to sell them this website? Is what I'm offering a service or is it a product? Are themes generally protected against my method or is it strictly on a per theme basis? I tried searching for "resale of wordpress themes," but I got bombarded with only regular wordpress theme for sale. If anyone can help me it would be appreciated.
    If you use a theme that is genuinely licensed under the GPL, you can modify (or not) and sell (or give it away) your derived product for whatever you want to sell it for. There's nothing shady, edgy, unethical, immoral, or dishonest about it. That's what the GPL was designed for.

    You will want to make certain that it is truly licensed as GPL by contacting the author. Don't buy into the fantasy that 'just because it works on WordPress, it's covered under GPL'. That just isn't true, although it's never been tested in court. Do you want to be the first test case? Not me.

    You DO have to follow the GPL rules, though, one of which is leaving the original copyright notice intact. You can't claim authorship of the derivative theme, but you can add something like "certain portions of this theme copyright 2013 your name".

    You ALSO have to pass along the GPL license - which means that your customer, client, or whomever you sell your theme to also has the same rights as you. They can modify your created theme (or not), give it away to their best buddy (or sell it), or offer it for free.

    Note that there are certain portions of themes that the GPL does NOT cover, such as images. Just because an image is part of a GPLd theme doesn't mean you have the right to use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author elperuanito
    Don't see what's wrong with it. The value is in the modifications, additional design (logo, color scheme changes, addition buttons etc) NOT the theme or framework itself. In fact I'm sure the developers of frameworks such as Thesis are targeting this market in their sales. Development costs are in implementing a theme successfully to fit the client's needs. With a framework (+theme sometimes) you're massively cutting down on production costs for yourself AND the client. The value is in the complete web and business solution, of which a theme is but a small part. It's different if you try and resell ONLY a theme as your own and that's it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tyler S
    You can legally resell themes like those from WOOThemes. Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author sunray
    Everything that any Wordpress theme package contains is GNU. It really does not matter what the developer is talking about licenses -- the seller only has rights to distribute derivative works to Wordpress under GNU. The only exceptional case is when an image or another file physically remains in the server of the developer and is only linked to the theme.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Botkins
    You're better off having somebody design you one from scratch to sell. You can't take a WordPress theme and sell it as your own, that's wrong and people eventually will find out. What you can do is tell them you will install the WordPress theme for them and modify it to fit their needs.
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