[wp-hackers] Plugin Licensing

Tue Mar 15 04:24:36 UTC 2011

After the last email from me on this thread. I exchanged a few mails with
people at gravity forms.
Carl gave this link to me http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html and I
was amazed but at least corrected. I did read the GPL before posting here
but misunderstood it.
Its not legally binding on anyone to release the source code and as in
Gravity Forms case, they believe that if they hadn't sold the plugin and
gave it away for free, the plugin would have ceased to exist.
I am sorry for the fuss I created because of my misunderstanding.
All the folks who came up to explain and have been patient with all this,
thanks a lot!

Things I learnt as a summary to whoever searches the archive
There are two ways to making a licensed plugin.

   1. SaaS and
   2. Registering its css and images / icons under a separate license.

People can decide not to give away the source code of their plugins for
free(price) themselves even if they are selling it.
But someone buying from them can put its php code with new css for free.
WordPress is not going to be dual licensed ever

One doubt that I still have is can people sell encrypted plugins? While
selling the plugin code.
Do they need to give the full source code(php) or is that too a matter of
personal decision of the plugin author?
Say someone encrypted a part or whole of their plugin with ioncube and added
a check to their server for some key before the plugin can be
decrypted/decoded and run?

On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 5:35 AM, Ryan Bilesky <rbilesky at gmail.com> wrote:

> Exactly, otherwise i bet most people would not use WordPress, because if a
> company develops a plugin for their own internal use well now anyone could
> just demand the source from them, same with any plugin or theme any
> developer here designs for their client.  Of course there would be the
> possibility of claiming its not derivative so you chose a proprietary
> license but that's a whole other issue we won't go into.
>
> Point is that's not how GPL worked, and if it was the would cause a huge
> set
> of problems.
>
> On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 11:45 AM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net>
> wrote:
>
> > You need to re-read the actual text of the GPL. You grossly misunderstand
> > the license requirements.
> >
> > Those who distribute under GPL are under no requirement whatsoever to
> > release their code "to the public", or "for free". Rather, they are
> > required
> > to provide, to those to whom they distribute their work, the cleartext
> > source for that work.
> >
> > They are under no obligation to distribute their work to any arbitrary
> > person (i.e. the "public"); they are allowed - explicitly under the terms
> > of
> > the GPL - to distribute their code only to those who purchase that code.
> > And
> > if they sell their code, they are only obligated to provide the source
> code
> > to those who purchase their code.
> >
> > Please see the past three years (if not longer) of WP-Hackers archives,
> for
> > the ad nauseum repetition of this argument.
> >
> > Chip
> >
> > On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 8:28 AM, Piyush Mishra <me at piyushmishra.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 6:21 PM, Chip Bennett <chip at chipbennett.net>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 5:56 AM, Piyush Mishra <me at piyushmishra.com>
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > I don't think you got the whole idea as I was trying to put it. The
> > > > source
> > > > > code remains open source and ready to contribute for people who
> > already
> > > > do
> > > > > that and it will always be. Why would WordPress close its source
> > > anyway?
> > > > > Its about those people who write plugins and go all heights to make
> > it
> > > > paid
> > > > > only. They will have to pay WordPress community back in cash.
> > > > >
> > > > > A lot of us pay back to the community in one way or the other.
> > > > > But there are those who extend WordPress and sell their plugins.
> > > > > Check this out:-
> > > > > http://www.gravityforms.com/terms-and-conditions/
> > > > > try getting the latest version of gforms and this one
> > > > > http://www.gravityhelp.com/forums/topic/is-it-gpl (yes its true,
> css
> > > > files
> > > > > aren't covered).
> > > > > My point is as WordPress users get helpless in such situations. we
> > > should
> > > > > keep dual license to take care of that or take some action
> > > > > (copyright infringement / demand giving php files out for free)
> > > > >
> > > > > The GPL does not preclude the selling of GPL-licensed code; in
> fact,
> > it
> > > > explicitly permits it. You have no legal (or moral) right to "demand"
> > > that
> > > > they give their PHP files away for free.
> > > >
> > > > There is absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong with what the
> GravityForms
> > > > folks are doing.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > Nope there is. as plugins donot interact only as a fork process to
> > > WordPress, GPL sees it as a part of the software and thus, they are
> > legally
> > > bound to release their source code in public making it equally easy to
> > > obtain as they have made the paid version (stripped off of the css n
> > > images)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > Chip
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > wp-hackers mailing list
> > > > wp-hackers at lists.automattic.com
> > > > http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-hackers
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Regards
> > > Piyush Mishra
> > > http://www.piyushmishra.com/
> > > Life's Short, Live it to the maximum
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > wp-hackers mailing list
> > > wp-hackers at lists.automattic.com
> > > http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-hackers
> > >
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> >
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-- 
Regards
Piyush Mishra
http://www.piyushmishra.com/
Life's Short, Live it to the maximum