Thanks for the comment.

I pretty much agree with you. My thinking is that If you develop a WordPress theme or plug-in, then it falls under the GPL. It has to as a derivative work.

It is possible to make money by creating custom themes, I do it al the time for clients who want a website. I build my websites on top of WordPress because it is so easily configurable to my needs. Each website has their own custom theme and the client is free to do what they want with it. But I get paid to install and configure WordPress and to create a theme. The upside for me is that I go do it quickly, the upside for the client is that I can do it cheaply. If the client wants to release their theme to the public, then they can do so. I’m not going to complain, and I’d be rather chuffed if they did. None have done so, but that’s their decision. The code hasn’t been released to the pubic, so there’s no issue with the GPL.

The old business model of creating a Premium Theme for WordPress and selling it multiple times and restricting what the end user can do with it is gone. Premium Theme developers will have to find another model to work off to survive.

I am a fan of Open Software, I try to support it whenever I can. I do believe that copyright is an issue that belongs with the creator of the work, be it software, images or any type of media. What I don’t agree with is the length of time that copyright is enforceable. A creators lifetime plus a number of years is simply too long. (In the US, it’s life of the creator plus 70 years, in the UK, I thinks it’s either 25 years or 50 years from creation.) There should be a hard limit on copyright, say 5 or 10 years. In effect, this says, that we recognise that you put in time, effort and creativity to make this work, now you have 5 years to make money from it, jump to it.

In the end though, Open Source will win out, solely on the basis I think that there are so many more people working towards a common goal. More creative minds working on a project will lead to more creative solutions.

Regards,
Paul.

Perhaps you would benefit from listening to the interview with Matt (can’t remember the site ofhand) regarding the Theme removals..

I to have no idea what Mike refers to, and he’s not provided a link, so he could be blowing hot air for all i know, and the statement might be totally untrue.

Theme developers are not being prevented from making money on their designs, they’re just be forced to not make their money off the back of advertising via Wordpress. If you make a theme for a customer, yes they can then release the code, but if it’s customised to their business there’s little chance they’ll want to…

Wordpress, Linux, PHP, and other big names run on GPL, and they still manage…

In essence PHP is GPL, so anything released into PHP cannot have a new license, yet we see 100000’s of people doing it and making money, this is no different….

Typically someone makes money, someone points out that you don’t have the right to it, and it can be passed along for free, then the toys start flying out of the pram…..

I’ve worked on Templates over the years, for different CMS’s, and i’ve made a little cash, but i don’t believe i have a ‘right’ to make money from it, because i’m building the template on an Open Source framework.

Imagine this, i create a SUPER recipe, a food soo delicious that everyone wants it. I then decide to charge a fee to obtain it, 1 guy buys it, he then goes on to show others how to create that recipe for free. What these themers would suggest is i have a right to keep that SPECIAL SECRET recipe to myself and sell it on…. sorry that’s just tosh…..

Noone, and i do mean noone, has a right to make money…. though i would say you have a right to try, and if you succeed, well good for you… but you don’t have a right to continue to make that money if someone manages to create the same piece of work and pass it along for free…..

HTML, CSS, PHP, Wordpress…. whatever your taste….. there’s no right to make something off it, but you sure as hell can try….

Development does not come from charging for everything you can, but it comes from sharing and showing others how to create. If you insist on KEEPING YOUR SPECIAL code, then do not put it into the public sector, and don’t create code for Frameworks that encourage FREE and OPEN work… you’re just swimming against the tide.

Matt hit the nail on the head in the interview regarding the license and having themes listed on the Wordpress site….

Some themers have been hit by the change, it’s hit their pockets, and now they’re throwing a hissy fit….. well tuff……..get over it, adjust your business model, re-read the license or find another area to work in. If you think your personal work is soooooo goddamn special that it can only be available at a charge, then you seriously need to re-think some priories and the work you do…

I love creating templates, images, random scripts.. I love if i can make money from it, i also love if another can take my code and do something with it, make money, expand it, or whatever they choose. The code is not physically mine, it’s a string of numbers and letters, or pixels, it’s ridiculous to believe i can own them….

Heck why don’t i create a 100 by 100 pixel image with random colours each pixel then copyright or license that image, when in reality i’m simply licensing a sequence of pixels, letters or numbers… If that’s possible then i should be able to say the use of “dhuikandhiuwdahd7iughd78231″ is copyright to t31os, i’m the first to use it, noone else has and i’ve created something unique. The series of characters has no value, and performs no function, but it’s my creation and i don’t want anyone else to use it without paying…… Does that not sound stupid?

Images, code, though on a more grand scale, are just a series of pixels or characters, if a pixel or a character itself is not of value, or is not licensable, then why should a combination of them be….

I’ve only been a Wordpress user for a few months (have used other CMSs for years), and the one thing that actually got me stuck on WP (have been coding PHP, CSS etc by hand before) was the OPEN and FREE nature….

Like one of the callers on the interview with Matt, i was driven away from other CMS’s as every time you needed some decent, plugins for example, you’d find a charge. Eventually the communities were Profit based, and you’d either pay or move along. Me i’d moved along….. as i’m sure many people do…. Now WP looks to either change and move forward or become what alot of CMS’s have, which is just another profiteering racket….

Open communities thrive, communities based on money and profit die, with exception to the businesses that can afford to pay, leaving average Joe (like me) on the sidelines.

I help, i design, i create, i share, but i’d still consider myself a low level developer, the difference…… i recognise and embrace the change, i’m swimming with the tide…

I’m not aware of Matt’s comments in relation to you, but I wouldn’t condone that type of behaviour under any circumstances.

Given the situation, I don’t blame you for moving away from WordPress.

In relation to plugins not being derivative works, I can’t see anyway to achieve anything significant without using a WordPress function.

In the end, I think it’s going to be down to the end users. If they want to pay for a non GPL plugin/ theme and abide by the agreement the developer provides, then there always will be a market.

It will boil down to the “ignorance” of the end user – if they don’t know about the GPL, then they won’t care when it’s breached.

Regards,
Paul

I’m trying to think of an example I use with my clients but after Matt’s rather distasteful comments directed towards me about my physical handicaps, I move most of my clients over to other platforms.

Thanks for the clarification.

Matt’s argument seems to be that if the code relies on WordPress, then it’s a derivative work.

I’m not sure that you could write a plugin that doesn’t rely on WordPress in some way, even if it just to output the results. Is there a way to modify the output without relying on WordPress hooks and actions?

My personal belief is that if Matt wants to push GPL compliance within the WordPress community, then he has to make people aware that the GPL is not taking away their rights, but will ensure the strength of the community into the future.

Regards,
Paul.

Just to clarify a small minor point in your article, it is possible to create a plugin that does not fall under the GPL. If it doesn’t use any function calls or code from the WordPress codebase, it can’t be called a derivative work and therefore doesn’t have to GPL’ed.

I just find it ironic though that Matt and crew have been caught a number of times not following GPL and copyright themselves. It’s kind of ironic to see him pushing GPL for every body else but himself.