Selling Plugins AND Revoking GPL rights

[Ipstenu]

http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...-machines.html


He's SELLING 100 plugins, none of which he wrote, and claiming that if you buy his package YOU cannot resell it. GPL vio? Me thinks so. I'm trying to spread the word so folks can start kicking his ass for it.

(While I find it unethical and distasteful to sell someone else's work, I know very well that's not a GPL violation. It's a dick move, but it's allowed. What is a GPL vio is saying 'And you can't sell this!')

[chipbennett]

The dude is on incredibly thin ice here. Under normal copyright considerations, what he's claiming here is copyright of the compilation (which is itself copyrightable). Given that he does not have a copyright claim on even a single Plugin in the compilation, I would hazard a guess that a claim of copyright of the compilation would be specious.

What I'm unsure of is how compilation copyright holds up when 100% of the compilation is comprised of GPL-licensed works. However, since the right to redistribute GPL code is contingent upon that the redistributed code being released under the same license, I would hazard a guess that his license restrictions for the compilation do, in fact, violate the GPL.

Of course, the easy way around his compilation copyright claim is to change the compilation, by adding or removing even one single Plugin.

[Ipstenu]

All he really has to do is remove the damned line that says "No you can't give this away for free" and he's GPL free-and-clear.

[chipbennett]

All he really has to do is remove the damned line that says "No you can't give this away for free" and he's GPL free-and-clear.

True; the rest (i.e. "MASTER RESALE RIGHTS" omgbbq!!!!!) is just marketing propaganda.

But clearly, based on his responses, he's thought this through. For whatever reason, he thinks there's going to be an actual market for his compilation, and is trying to prevent being undercut. I think it's rather silly to think that he's going to generate some kind of real market demand for a $9 compilation of GPL Plugins - even despite his claims that using his compilation will generate $240 a day, or whatever.

[Ipstenu]

He would do better selling a $9 ebook for 'plugins you want and why!' with how best to implement them on your site. "I did the work to find these and optimize them!" That would actually kind of be cool.

"expressed permission to offer Private Label Rights" .... I don't even know what that means, or how he can claim to have talked to all of those devs. I'm dead certain Akismet didn't agree to that!

[chipbennett]

He would do better selling a $9 ebook for 'plugins you want and why!' with how best to implement them on your site. "I did the work to find these and optimize them!" That would actually kind of be cool.

"expressed permission to offer Private Label Rights" .... I don't even know what that means, or how he can claim to have talked to all of those devs. I'm dead certain Akismet didn't agree to that!

Wait: he included Akismet? Really?

Is he an utter moron? Risking copyright violation claims from a bunch of individuals is one thing; but taking on the single biggest entity in the WordPress ecosystem - and the one with the philosophical motivation and financial means to pursue a copyright violation lawsuit - has to be the stupidest thing he could possibly do.

[Ipstenu]

AND Subscribe to Comments, which according to Mark Jaquith, he never negotiated any kind of special rights for that plugin, other than those normally provided by GPL.

https://twitter.com/#!/markjaquith/s...69275037806592

So he's working on epic levels of win.

Though the number of people who are trying to be nice and tell me 'You know it's legal to resell....' are amusing. Can't wait for the flame wars!

[chipbennett]

AND Subscribe to Comments, which according to Mark Jaquith, he never negotiated any kind of special rights for that plugin, other than those normally provided by GPL.

https://twitter.com/#!/markjaquith/s...69275037806592

So he's working on epic levels of win.

Though the number of people who are trying to be nice and tell me 'You know it's legal to resell....' are amusing. Can't wait for the flame wars!

Yeah; it just hit the Hackers list, too. I made an attempt to nip such flame wars in the bud. :)

[Ipstenu]

It's free now, but ... http://trafficstarsystem.com/wpmilliondollarplugins/

Okay, so put in my email (riiight, thank you disposables) and go to another page, asking for my email again, and THEN sends me to a page where it wants to sell me a 950 dollar ... something.

[chipbennett]

It's free now, but ... http://trafficstarsystem.com/wpmilliondollarplugins/

Okay, so put in my email (riiight, thank you disposables) and go to another page, asking for my email again, and THEN sends me to a page where it wants to sell me a 950 dollar ... something.

Well, it's quite clear for whom the million-dollar income is intended - and it surely isn't the purchasers of the 950-dollar "something"... ;)