Can I download a free plugin, customize it (new features) and sell it?

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  macr1408 · Member · May 23, 2018 at 7:46 pm

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  As the title says, can I download a free plugin, customize it (add new features, fix bugs, etc) and sell it on my personal site/shop?

  If i’m not wrong, ALL the plugins published under WordPress repository use GPL2 right? So that means I can do what I’m saying.

  Does anybody knows if this is possible? Thanks.

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  timethief · Member · May 23, 2018 at 10:55 pm

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  Please read these support docs:
  Business plan https://en.support.wordpress.com/business-plan/

  Plugins

  See also: moving to self hosted WordPress https://move.wordpress.com

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  mommyhive · Member · May 23, 2018 at 11:10 pm

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  Hi @macr1408,

  Also refer to the below quora thread that I came across related to your question.
  https://www.quora.com/Can-I-take-a-free-Wordpress-plugin-change-some-of-the-stuff-and-then-sell-it

  Thank you.

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  kokkieh · Staff · May 24, 2018 at 6:42 am

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  Hi there,

  That would depend on the exact terms of the license under which the plugin was issued. We cannot help you with interpreting the terms of the plugin license, as we are not your attorneys.

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  macr1408 · Member · May 24, 2018 at 8:54 pm

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  Thanks for your response. Sadly @mommyhive and @kokkieh asnwers are very different, can we keep discussing this?

  Aren’t ALL plugins supposed to be GPL2 because they are developed for wordpress and work under this platform?

  Is it possible to publish a free version in the wordpress repository (GPL2) and then, publish the paid version in my personal store with a different and more restrictive license?

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  timethief · Member · May 24, 2018 at 8:55 pm

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  Hi there,

  Be aware that kokkieh is a Staff member unlike mommyhive who is a volunteer.

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  macr1408 · Member · May 25, 2018 at 2:14 am

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  Hi,

  Yes I know, I didn’t say anything bad I think.

  Even when kokkieh is a Staff member, his answer was more focused on talking about the license itself (which is not my point) and it was a bit vague about my question. I know what we can do with a GPL license and what we can’t. My question is focused more on the plugins’s licenses and their types.

  That’s why I invited him (and mommyhive) to discuss more about the topic.

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  timethief · Member · May 25, 2018 at 2:18 am

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  When you refer to the WordPress plugins you are referring to WordPress.ORG https://wordpress.org/plugins/ but this is WordPress.com. Have you read the comparison here https://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/?

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  kokkieh · Staff · May 25, 2018 at 7:39 am

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  There is nothing more to discuss. We cannot advise you here what you can or cannot do with a particular plugin, or even with the open source WordPress software, and this forum is not a place for debate on how GPL licenses work.

  This forum is for providing end-user support to owners of sites hosted on WordPress.com. As your question is not about that, I’m closing this thread to further replies.

  To find out what you’re allowed to do under the terms of the GPL for a specific plugin, please contact the owners of the particular plugin, or consult an attorney that specialises in online licensing law.

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  kokkieh · Staff · May 25, 2018 at 7:43 am

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  Sadly @mommyhive and @kokkieh asnwers are very different,

  
  @mommyhive linked you to a discussion on another website, nothing more. I would advise against taking legal advice from random websites on the internet, especially a site like Quora, where anyone can answer questions and where information is curated based on upvotes by readers who themselves are often not specialists in the field themselves (and I say this as an active Quora user).