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by jeb 5816 days ago
Wordpress is a plug-in platform. You can load and execute plugins, you can load and execute themes. Those themes may call the wordpress API, but a theme + wordpress is not a new form or branch of wordpress. So it's not a derivative work in the sense that the GPL intends derivative works to be.

You can look at technicalities, like how wordpress designs its API, but those are not faults of the themes.

What is a theme actually? It's a look and feel, and this look and feel is not dependent on wordpress. A theme could exist across many different blogging platforms. Each platform will provide a different API for the theme to interact with it, but the look and feel of the theme has nothing to do with this interface. The theme is a conceptual abstraction that is in no way dependent on the existence of wordpress as another conceptual abstraction.

As such, I believe that the thesis theme should not be GPLed.
1 comments
mindcrime 5816 days ago 

  So it's not a derivative work in the sense that the GPL 
  intends derivative works to be.
That's hardly a settled point, AFAIK. The FSF contend that linking to a bit of code creates a derivative work that is a derivative of the "bit of code" in question. I don't know that this whole issue has ever been tested in court and any strict legal precedents set. From what I've seen though, it appears to be an issue that is still debated and for which there is no definitive answer.

  What is a theme actually? It's a look and feel, and this 
  look and feel is not dependent on wordpress.
But there is linking to Wordpress code, so IF you buy the FSF argument, then the PHP code for the theme would need to be GPLd in order to legally be distributed. But I don't think there's any argument that corresponding icons, images, CSS, javascript, etc. would also fall under the GPL.

  As such, I believe that the thesis theme should not be GPLed.
Ultimately it won't matter what any of us think...if it goes to court, it'll come down to whatever a given court, on a given day, decide. <shrug />

Edit: a poster above asserts that there is case law / precedent concerning all this. Maybe somebody can dig up a link or two that gives some more info on that point?

link