[theme-reviewers] GPL

[// ravi]

On Sep 25, 2012, at 3:19 AM, Bryan Hadaway <bhadaway at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Basically, all that I'm saying is that declaring a license is a very loose concept legally (regardless of the license itself) as apposed to actually federally registering/trademarking/copyrighting something etc, it's basically your word and nothing else.
> 
> Essentially it's a good faith approach, like a hand shake. Obviously GPL has legal precedence:
> 
> http://technosailor.com/2010/07/14/impending-legal-precedent-for-gpl-licensing/
> 
> Should you be able to adequately prove that something you created is your creation and that you've defined it as "licensed" under the GPL.
> 

Indeed you will need to demonstrate that the content originates from you, and there are tricky issues of interpretation and semantics as with any law (and the code vs style separation of what is derivative and what is not, in WP themes, is an interesting one), but the license is surely more binding than a handshake. And the fact that companies pay good money to the likes of Black Duck demonstrates the real strength of the GPL. I think the thread kicked off with the OP asking what license he should choose (or something along those lines). My argument has been that the GPL is certainly no worse than other licenses and IMO better than looser alternatives. I sense we have reached the end of this thread, but it’s been interesting.

Regards,

	—ravi