[theme-reviewers] Including GPLv3 and LGPLv3 Code Inside of a Theme

[Otto]

On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 9:57 AM, Philip Arthur Moore
<work at philiparthurmoore.com> wrote:
> Can you guys shed light on the .org stance of including GPLv3 and LGPLv3
> code inside of a theme that's released under the GNU General Public License
> v2 or later license?

Sure. You can't do it without making the theme "GPLv3 or later"
instead. Hope that clarifies matters. :-D

To be fair though, it really depends on the use. For the specific case
of "code", then presumably that code is being called directly from the
theme's code. This is what some call "deep integration" and it means
that the terms of the GPL as applied to derivative works apply.

In general, if the theme is "GPLv2 or later", then simply changing it
to "GPLv3 or later" is not a big deal. Simply change the license. The
"or later" part lets you do that.

But because the GPLv3 adds extra restrictions, it is fundamentally
incompatible with the terms of the GPLv2, so code using both of them
cannot be distributed without upping the v2 code.

WordPress.org accepts any version of the GPL for inclusion in the directory.

-Otto