[kwlug-disc] Wordpress themes must be GPL

[Chris Frey]

On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 12:25:27PM -0400, Ralph Janke wrote:
> On 07/26/2010 04:31 PM, Andrew Kohlsmith (mailing lists account) wrote:
> >
> >Linus made it blatantly clear that modules (code which links to the 
> >kernel) do
> >not have to be GPL. It appears that Wordpress and Drupal need to make very
> >clear statements as well.  It seems that Wordpress has, and that's what 
> >this
> >whole thread was about. :-)
> >
> >   
> 
> This is because the what you link into your code is LGPL no GPL.

Are you referring to the kernel here?  Because to my knowledge, the kernel
has always used the GPL, not LGPL.


> However,
> there is an unresolved discussion about something similar. A lot
> of people in the python community believe, that code that just calls
> a library which is GPL must also be GPL. I somewhat disagree with that.
> No code (or derivative) is copied for such, hence copyright is not really
> an issue. It is rather an issue of usage, for which the GPL is very liberal.

This is why the LGPL was created, so that linking doesn't require
putting all the code under GPL.  Linking does count with GPL.

	http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#LinkingWithGPL
	http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLAndPlugins

I think most plugins are a bit more than just calling a "main" function
and waiting for it to return.

To be clear about proprietary modules in a GPL'd program, they recommend
an explicit exception clause:

	http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#LinkingOverControlledInterface

It is worth noting that some people release code under the GPL specifically
to discourage non-free use.  It's a big sign that non-free users should
go away.

- Chris