Envato has announced that ThemeForest and Code Canyon authors now have the option to sell their WordPress themes and plugins with a 100% GPL license. Helping launch this new feature, one of the biggest and most well known independent WordPress theme shops – WooThemes has joined ThemeForest as one of the first 100% GPL partners. WooThemes themes will start appearing on ThemeForest in the coming days.
At the moment the GPL option is only available for WordPress themes and plugins, but will be open to other categories (Joomla, Drupal, OpenCart, OS Commerce and Zen Cart etc) in the coming weeks. Authors can select to go 100% GPL or stick with the current split license arrangement. Once an item is switched over to a 100% GPL license it can’t be changed back so authors should fully inform themself about the GPL license and what it means for them.
With all the controversy surrounding Envato, the WordPress Foundation and GPL licensing something really had to happen, so it’s good to see a positive outcome. The choice to license themes under a 100% GPL license will no doubt please many authors as well buyers.
It will be interesting to see how many ThemeForest authors make the switch to a 100% GPL license and if the new GPL option attracts other developers and existing WordPress theme shops to also sell products in the ThemeForest marketplace.
This is fantastic news. I love many of the themes on ThemeForest but have usually avoided buying them because they were not 100% GPL. Hope most of the authors decide to make the switch.
Hi, I’m not a developer or coder but buy and use lots of WP themes from various sources and theme shops. Can anyone one give me the short a sweet layman’s explanation of what 100% GPL license means now to a regular theme buyer/marketer?
The link in the post to GNU.org explains everything you need to know about the GPL license. But essentially the GPL is about freedom. The license gives end users the freedom to use, study, modify, share (copy), and do whatever they like with the theme.
Previously ThemeForest only offered a split GPL license option for authors. I.e. the PHP code in the theme is GPL, while the CSS code and certain other stuff had a propriety license. The split license is legal but the WordPress Foundation and Matt Mullenweg don’t like it.
WordPress is licensed under the GPL and thus themes and plugins are ‘required’ to be also.
Thx. appreciate the explanation.