Weblog Tools Collection: What’s Your Take On the GPL Argument Between Matt and Thesis?

If you have been on Twitter today, you might have come across a huge argument between WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and Thesis theme developer Chris Pearson. Matt is unhappy that unlike other premium themes, Thesis does not distribute/sell their themes under the GPL licensing system.

We have discussed about exploring GPL and the risks through a lengthy article in the past and whether it is a viable model or not. Though the fight is not about using GPL or not, it is about how the products can make use of code which make use of the GPL license.

Matt has argued that GPL Licensing terms state that if you use a product with a GPL licensing, you have to distribute it with a GPL license too, however, this is not happening with the Thesis theme. Matt is not wrong here, because Thesis cannot exist without WordPress and it extensively uses a lot of code from the WordPress core, for example actions, hooks and more.

Though I am not siding anyone here, I do feel that if a licensing states that you have to adhere to certain things, you should technically and ethically stick to them. What is your take on this issue? Were you aware of it? If not you might want to check a detailed post on The Next Web about the issue here.

Further Reads: More about GPL license here and the GPLv2 license which WordPress uses here.

Original post by Keith Dsouza