WordPress.org has announced that pirated versions of paid plugins and themes will be removed from its official repositories. This decision has sparked debate within the WordPress community regarding potential violations of the WordPress Open Source GPL license, which permits the distribution of derivative works.
The announcement affirmed that premium plugins, developed under the GPL, may have derivative works. However, it also stated the right to remove such plugins from the official repository.
WordPress Hosts Pirated Themes and Plugins?
There have been instances where the official WordPress theme and plugin repositories distributed pirated versions of premium plugins and themes. A developer claimed to have reported such violations to WordPress in the past, but no action was taken.
"But but… 2 or 3 years ago I alerted you to a plugin which stole code and functions and even ‘word-for-word’ dashboard items from my plugins and you didn’t want to do anything…”
WordPress GPL Open Source
WordPress asserts that plugins and themes developed for its platform are derivative works if they contain WordPress code, thereby inheriting the GPL license.
WordPress explains the GPL license as follows:
"GPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing.
The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license.
This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples."
It’s clear that anyone can create derivative works based on all plugins and themes that are considered derivative works. However, there are acknowledged legal gray areas about what constitutes a derivative work.
Pirated Plugins Prohibited from WordPress Repositories
WordPress.org maintains a directory of free plugins and themes available for download. Before a theme or plugin is listed in these repositories, it undergoes an approval process. Once approved, these plugins and themes are available to all WordPress users for free.
Pirated Software Prohibited on WordPress.org
The announcement stated:
"Taking someone’s pay-for code and re-releasing it as free-of-charge is considered to be piracy and is not welcome here.
It doesn’t matter if the code is GPL, it matters than you’re stealing the opportunity of the original developers to make a living, and we feel that is detrimental to the community.
In addition, it’s often in violation of the terms you agreed to when you downloaded the plugin from the developer in the first place.
By you doing that, and rehosting here, you put the entire directory in peril. Arguably we become responsible for your actions. As such, we do not permit plugins that are sold off WordPress.org to be re-hosted here."
WordPress Community Feedback
The community largely supported the intent behind blocking pirated premium plugin and theme clones. However, some members expressed concerns about whether pirated software might still be legal under GPL, questioning if WordPress.org was overstepping by restricting cloned software.
One commenter mentioned:
"I think the wording of the post is problematic, whilst I generally agree with the sentiment, its references to the GNU GPL v2 and the use of the term “piracy” (no ship or boat borne attackers were involved) and “stole” (no one lost anything they were entitled to) when people are exercising a right outlined in the WordPress project’s own philosophy.
…WordPress is distributed under the GNU GPLv2, the WordPress project itself asserts that plugins and modules are “derivative works”. The GNU GPLv2 explicitly excludes additional terms being applied to the distribution of source code.
…The WordPress Projects philosophy specifically supports redistribution without needing to ask permission from its creators."
Another person argued that piracy of premium plugins and themes still constitutes copyright infringement.
"Open source licenses do not supersede copyright. The original author(s) still has that and if someone misrepresents the code as their own, while it is ripped off – or politely put “forked” – from someone else’s code, they are violating the author’s copyright."
The official announcement author emphasized that the banned activities are indeed copyright violations.
She stated:
"These aren’t people forking and changing code, these are literally people making a copy, where the only changes are to hide who they took the code from. No new features, nothing."
Beware of Pirated Plugins and Themes
Pirated plugins can cost developers their earnings and may contain harmful code, compromising website security. It benefits the entire WordPress community—from developers to users—that pirated software is not allowed in official repositories.
Citation
Read the official WordPress announcement:
Reminder: Forked Premium Plugins Are Not Permitted
