There’s an interesting debate going on in relation to WordPress and the GNU General Public License (GPL), more specifically WordPress themes and the WordPress.org theme repository. (WPCandy has a great post about the in’s and out’s of the whole situation.)
For many bloggers, the GPL means nothing to them. In short, the GPL is a license used to distribute “Free Software”. In this context “Free” doesn’t mean that there’s no cost associated with obtaining the software (though in practice Free Software often is), but that there are certain Freedoms guaranteed to the end user by the GPL.
The basic tenets of the GPL are:
- If you release software to the public under the GPL, you must provide the source code, either with the initial download or on request.
- You may charge for software, and/ or, source code released under the GPL.
- The end user is allowed to re-distribute the original software, but must do so under the GPL. (The end-user is not required to charge for for re-distributed GPL software, even if they paid to obtain it.)
- The end user is allowed to modify the original software in any way that they want.
- If the modified software is released to the public, then the modified software also must be released under the GPL and the modified source code must also be made available. (The modified can also be charged for, but once again the end-user is allowed re-distribute it at no cost under the GPL.)
- Any software derived from the GPL’d software, must also be released under the GPL.
So how does this affect WordPress themes? WordPress is released under the GPL, and according to Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress and Automattic, WordPress themes and plugins are derivatives of WordPress and therefore have to be released under the GPL.
As a result of this declaration, over 200 themes were removed from the WordPress theme directory because they did not comply with the GPL. The main reasons given were that these incompatible themes:
- contained hidden spam links, or
- had conditions attached which were forbidden under the GPL, or
- linked back to sites that also provided premium themes that were not released under the GPL.
While I, and many others, agree that removing themes that fell under the first two conditions above was the right thing to do, the controversy is raging over those themes that fell into the last category.
A lot of people have made a lot of money developing Premium Themes. While the GPL has no issue with charging for this work, Premium Themes often come with conditions that prevent the end user from re-distributing and/ or modifying the theme.
These Premium Themes clearly do not comply with the GPL, and if Matt’s argument regarding the derivative nature of WordPress themes is accepted, then the theme developers are in breach of the GPL.
Given that WordPress has been GPL since day one, and that the team behind WordPress are committed to promoting the GPL, I can fully understand why these themes should not be included in the Theme Directory. After all, the Theme Directory is run and maintained by the WordPress team, and they are free to decide the criteria required to be admitted.
On one side of the debate, we have those themes that are GPL compliant and will be included in the Theme Directory. On the other side of the debate, are those themes that are not GPL compliant and won’t be included in the Theme Directory.
In the middle of these two sides are the themes released under the GPL, fully compliant with the license, but link back to a site promoting themes that do not comply with the GPL. It is these themes that have led to the current controversy.
The developers of these themes that are making the most noise about being removed from the Theme Directory. I can understand their frustration. Their business model depends on two things: being able to sell multiple copies of the same theme without fear that it will be re-distributed for free; and being linked to by WordPress.org and all the sites using their themes.
The decision to remove these “middle ground” themes has hit the premium theme developers in their pockets, and they’re being extremely vocal about it.
As always, there’s two sides to the story. Matt’s opinion seems to be that WordPress is GPL’d and therefore anything derived from it should also be released under the GPL. This is not to say that theme developers can’t make money from their creations, but that they can only do so under the terms of the GPL.
The premium developers on the other hand don’t believe that themes are derivative works and therefore don’t fall under the GPL. Being the case, they believe that they should be free to sell their creations under any license that they want, and that they should be free to restrict distribution in order to protect their copyright and their business.
In the end, the debate comes down to one question: Can a WordPress theme be considered a derivative work?
Unfortunately, there is no standard definition of what constitutes a derivative work, but one generally accepted definition is that a derivative work is one that uses, modifies or changes the original source code to produce a result. In other words, the derivative work would not function if the original did not exist.
If you accept this definition, then a WordPress Theme has to be considered a derivative work because it simply does not work once it is removed from the WordPress framework. (You can see this for yourself by following this link to my WordPress theme, hosted outside the WordPress directory.)
So where does this leave the Premium Theme developer?
In order to comply with the GPL, developers will have to remove any restrictions forbidding re-distribution of their work. While they may be able to still to sell their themes, it won’t take much time for others to release them for free, in line with the terms of the GPL. When that happens, their entire business model will disappear, along with their revenues.
I’m not suggesting that there is no way for WordPress theme developers to make a living from their work, but they will have to seriously reconsider their current business models.
There are alternative business models available, all of which are compatible with both the spirit and the letter of the GPL.
Linux is probably the best known GPL software, and there are plenty of companies that have made money from Linux – mainly by providing paid-for support. WordPress Themes are nowhere near as complicated as a full OS, but there should be more than enough customers out there willing to pay for support on their WordPress based site.
The GPL only applies if you release your derivative work to the public. Therefore, you are not required to release your modifications if you keep the software in-house. This leaves the option to develop an theme framework (which is not released to the public), upon which you can develop customised themes.
While customised themes may take more time to develop, this is offset by the fact that they can be sold for a higher price. Using a decent theme framework would cut down on development time and reduce costs.
There is one drawback to developing custom themes: once you have released the theme to the customer, you are required to do so under the terms of the GPL. Once the customer has paid for the theme, it is theirs to do with as they wish, and they are free to release it, if they so wish. (The upside is that, in most cases, someone requiring a customised theme is not going to release it – at least not free. Either way, it doesn’t matter – you’ll have been well paid for your work.)
After all of that, what does this mean to bloggers? In the short term, the WordPress theme directory obviously has a whole lot less themes to choose from. Then there’s those who have already bought Premium Themes. Where are they going to stand, once all of this has blown over? (As it undoubtedly will.) That’s probably the hardest question to answer, and I’ll hold my hand to my heart and say I just don’t know.
In the long term, not a whole lot will really change. If you want to start to blogging, want a decent looking theme, and just get stuck in, then there are plenty of GPL themes out there to satisfy your every blogging need.