Kenny Hemphill
The different interpretations of the GPU are threatening to shake the bedrock of the WordPress open-source developer community.
There’s a row brewing in cyberspace and its outcome could materially affect nothing less than the content management system that underpins thousands of the world’s websites.
The CMS in question is WordPress, a blogging platform that has grown in stature and functionality so much in recent years that it can now compete with dedicated CMSes such as Joomla and Drupal, at least for smaller sites.
WordPress was originally developed by Matt Mullenweg and is now maintained by his company, Automattic. It’s based on the open-source blogging system, b2, and is licensed under the Gnu Public Licence, or GPU, an open-source software licence developed by the Free Software foundation. The GPU, which is also used by Wikipedia and the Mozilla Foundation, among others, was used for WordPress partly because b2 was licensed this way, and partly because Mullenweg is passionate about open-source software.
That passion, however, alongside the differing interpretations of the GPU, is threatening to rob WordPress of some of its most talented and prolific third-party developers. The GPU states clearly that the software under licence, together with derivative works, must be available for distribution in their entirety to anyone who legally acquires a licence to use the software.
In WordPress’ case, legally acquiring a licence involves nothing more than downloading files or installing them on your web server. With that done, you have, according to the GPU, the inalienable right to use the software and all derivative works. Those derivative works include plug-ins, of which there are many thousands, and themes, of which there are even more.
Now, here’s the rub. While most plug-ins and themes are available to download free of charge, some are not. There’s a thriving market in so-called premium themes whose developers charge anything up to a couple of hundred dollars for the right to download the theme and install it on multiple websites.
Mullenweg contends, having asked the Software Freedom Law Center ‘experts on the GPU’ for clarification, that themes are derivative works and therefore covered by the GPU. The Software Freedom Law Center says the PHP in themes is covered by the GPU, while the CSS and any associated images aren’t.
If this were tested in court and the ruling went in Mullenweg’s favour, it would mean that when premium theme developers sold a theme, they would have to pass on the right to the purchaser to re-distribute that theme freely. That would end the revenue model by which developers charge an additional fee for the right to use their theme on multiple websites. It would also, say some developers, make it impossible to sell themes at all, given that as soon as one was sold it would be available to be distributed to anyone for free. Mullenweg argues that redistribution already takes place on pirate websites and torrents, albeit in breach of the themes’ licences.
The issue is whether those licences are worth the PDFs on which they’re written.
Not all premium themes are sold with custom licences. Some are sold with the GPU attached. StudioPress sells them in this way, allowing each buyer to use the theme on as many websites as they wish. It does, however, restrict support to the original purchaser. WordPress.org has recently added a directory of GPU-friendly theme developers to its main site as a way to recommend them to users and, by implication, to warn against themes with their own licences.
One such theme has been singled out by Mullenweg for criticism: the popular Thesis theme. Thesis users are licensed for one installation of the theme unless they buy the more expensive developer edition.
It’s easy to make the case that without a significant revenue stream from premium themes, developers will be less inclined and less able to develop them, thus limiting innovation and creativity in theme design. As a result, the WordPress community as a whole will suffer. It’s also easy to make the case that no-one should be allowed to exploit open-source software for unreasonable commercial gain. And that applying the GPU will make no difference to the viability of premium themes as anyone who wants to use them on multiple sites will do, regardless of the current licence.
At the moment the row has reached something of an impasse. While Mullenweg and WordPress.org have had legal advice, they seem unwilling to test it in court. And without a judge’s ruling, nothing is going to stop premium theme and plug-in developers selling their work with limited licences.
Any ruling in favour of the GPU, however, would have far-reaching consequences for everyone who uses and develops GPU-licensed software.
