Every so often in open source circles, the issue of the GPL (General Public License) comes up. Most open source projects are released under this license as it allows for the freedom of open source and freely distributed source code, with the adequate protections of law.
Essentially, the GPL says that by recieving a GPL software package, you agree that you have full rights to the software and that you can redistribute the code as an enhanced or modified package so long as all the source code is released, modifications are noted and attributed and the copyright and attribution for the original code is left in place.
WordPress, for instance, is a GPL’d package and so, all access to the source code is released to anyone who wishes to download it. Forking is also common with GPL software. Forking takes the base code from a project and allows someone to start a new project that can run parallel to the original project, or that even goes in a different direction altogether. WPMU is a forked project of WordPress.
A common misunderstanding of GPL is that people can’t get paid for it. This is actually incorrect. The physical act of transferring data is a chargeable action. So, in essence, a software manufacturer can bundle GPL software and charge a “sales fee” that covers the transmission and transfer of the source code. Because GPL requires that the source be distributed with the software, the software manufacturer has the power to decline a “sale” based on a buyers unwillingness to pay.
So Why Write About GPL?
David Chait from the WordPress hackers mailing list pinged us with a link to Chameleon, a Content MAnagement System (CMS) developed by FlipCorp, a company out of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Interestingly (and I encourage you reading through the entire thread as it sparked very interesting debate), Chameleon is a fork of WordPress. The entire CMS is based on WordPress and from screenshots, it would appear to really have at it’s core a jazzed up admin screen. The spec sheet and related reading material seems to indicate that WordPress-base user generated plugins were used to bring certain functionality to the CMS.
Now I’ve used WordPress often as a CMS and often bring in the aid of plugins to make it tick the way I want it to. It’s a very flexible platform, very forgiving and has a huge base of plugin authors. However, I wonder how plugin authors would feel about their code being used in a commercial product.
Part of the conversation on the hackers list revolved around, “Are WordPress plugins GPL because they are for WordPress which is GPL?” The answer seems to be, “No, plugin authors can choose to release their code under whatever license they wish to as long as it can co-exist with GPL”.
I pinged FlipCorp about the price of Chameleon. The price given for the software was 25,000 AED (Arab Emirates Dirhams) which is roughly equivalent to $6,800 USD.
So basically, to sum it up, Flip is using free software, pawning it off as their own (no mention of a WordPress base), using other peoples plugins without permission and pawning it off as their own “features”, selling it for $7k and at the end of the day making almost 100% profit.
It’s GPL for ya.
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Just read about this today. I don’t think Flip did anything wrong. As I understand the GPL, anyone is free to modify WordPress, and then redistribute it (for a fee, if they wish), as long as they clearly inform the people who they distribute it to that they modified WordPress and give links to the WordPress site etc.
Some people say that initially Flip passed off Chameleon as their own home-made work, and the ITP article here mentioned above seems to corroborate that. I don’t know whether Martin did or did not initially credit WordPress, but he seems to be doing so now, at the official Chameleon page. I would like to see Martin clarify the statement made on the ITP by “Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, account director at Flip Media”, where he said that Chameleon is home-made: “For example, our content management system Chameleon – which will cost anywhere from 20-30,000 Dirhams (US $5449 – $8174). This is a bulletproof, home-made system that clients can use to update their sites themselves, without needing technical knowledge. It enables clients to make their site better, every day.”
However, according to Martin’s comment a href=”http://technosailor.com/gpl-licensing-find-your-way-through-this-mess/#comment-9410″>above, he was going to release the source code for Chameleon. That was posted in July 2006. Nearly one year later, and there’s still no sign of the source code for any of their plugins. There are currently 10 plugins, according to the abovementioned Official Chameleon page.
I think I’m right in saying that under the GPL, they are only obligated to give the source code to the people they distribute Chameleon to, which means they are not obligated to release it for free for anyvody to download via the internet.
But the source for the Chameleon Menu Manager is supposedly listed here, but if you click on it you get a 404. The source has been removed now?
I think in the interests of the WordPress community, it would be best for all concerned if Martin and Flip released the source for all their Chameleon plugins. As long as they are found to state clearly to Chameleon users that Chameleon is a modified version of WordPress, I see no problem in them redistrubting WordPress and making money out of it. Indeed, kudos to them for coming up with a smart innovation! I wish I had thought of it!
Just read about this today. I don’t think Flip did anything wrong. As I understand the GPL, anyone is free to modify WordPress, and then redistribute it (for a fee, if they wish), as long as they clearly inform the people who they distribute it to that they modified WordPress and give links to the WordPress site etc.
Some people say that initially Flip passed off Chameleon as their own home-made work, and the ITP article here mentioned above seems to corroborate that. I don’t know whether Martin did or did not initially credit WordPress, but he seems to be doing so now, at the official Chameleon page. I would like to see Martin clarify the statement made on the ITP by “Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, account director at Flip Media”, where he said that Chameleon is home-made: “For example, our content management system Chameleon – which will cost anywhere from 20-30,000 Dirhams (US $5449 – $8174). This is a bulletproof, home-made system that clients can use to update their sites themselves, without needing technical knowledge. It enables clients to make their site better, every day.”
However, according to Martin’s comment a href=”http://technosailor.com/gpl-licensing-find-your-way-through-this-mess/#comment-9410″>above, he was going to release the source code for Chameleon. That was posted in July 2006. Nearly one year later, and there’s still no sign of the source code for any of their plugins. There are currently 10 plugins, according to the abovementioned Official Chameleon page.
I think I’m right in saying that under the GPL, they are only obligated to give the source code to the people they distribute Chameleon to, which means they are not obligated to release it for free for anyvody to download via the internet.
But the source for the Chameleon Menu Manager is supposedly listed here, but if you click on it you get a 404. The source has been removed now?
I think in the interests of the WordPress community, it would be best for all concerned if Martin and Flip released the source for all their Chameleon plugins. As long as they are found to state clearly to Chameleon users that Chameleon is a modified version of WordPress, I see no problem in them redistrubting WordPress and making money out of it. Indeed, kudos to them for coming up with a smart innovation! I wish I had thought of it!
Just read about this today. I don’t think Flip did anything wrong. As I understand the GPL, anyone is free to modify WordPress, and then redistribute it (for a fee, if they wish), as long as they clearly inform the people who they distribute it to that they modified WordPress and give links to the WordPress site etc.
Some people say that initially Flip passed off Chameleon as their own home-made work, and the ITP article here mentioned above seems to corroborate that. I don’t know whether Martin did or did not initially credit WordPress, but he seems to be doing so now, at the official Chameleon page. I would like to see Martin clarify the statement made on the ITP by “Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, account director at Flip Media”, where he said that Chameleon is home-made: “For example, our content management system Chameleon – which will cost anywhere from 20-30,000 Dirhams (US $5449 – $8174). This is a bulletproof, home-made system that clients can use to update their sites themselves, without needing technical knowledge. It enables clients to make their site better, every day.”
However, according to Martin’s comment a href=”http://technosailor.com/gpl-licensing-find-your-way-through-this-mess/#comment-9410″>above, he was going to release the source code for Chameleon. That was posted in July 2006. Nearly one year later, and there’s still no sign of the source code for any of their plugins. There are currently 10 plugins, according to the abovementioned Official Chameleon page.
I think I’m right in saying that under the GPL, they are only obligated to give the source code to the people they distribute Chameleon to, which means they are not obligated to release it for free for anyvody to download via the internet.
But the source for the Chameleon Menu Manager is supposedly listed here, but if you click on it you get a 404. The source has been removed now?
I think in the interests of the WordPress community, it would be best for all concerned if Martin and Flip released the source for all their Chameleon plugins. As long as they are found to state clearly to Chameleon users that Chameleon is a modified version of WordPress, I see no problem in them redistrubting WordPress and making money out of it. Indeed, kudos to them for coming up with a smart innovation! I wish I had thought of it!
Just read about this today. I don’t think Flip did anything wrong. As I understand the GPL, anyone is free to modify WordPress, and then redistribute it (for a fee, if they wish), as long as they clearly inform the people who they distribute it to that they modified WordPress and give links to the WordPress site etc.
Some people say that initially Flip passed off Chameleon as their own home-made work, and the ITP article here mentioned above seems to corroborate that. I don’t know whether Martin did or did not initially credit WordPress, but he seems to be doing so now, at the official Chameleon page. I would like to see Martin clarify the statement made on the ITP by “Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, account director at Flip Media”, where he said that Chameleon is home-made: “For example, our content management system Chameleon – which will cost anywhere from 20-30,000 Dirhams (US $5449 – $8174). This is a bulletproof, home-made system that clients can use to update their sites themselves, without needing technical knowledge. It enables clients to make their site better, every day.”
However, according to Martin’s comment a href=”http://technosailor.com/gpl-licensing-find-your-way-through-this-mess/#comment-9410″>above, he was going to release the source code for Chameleon. That was posted in July 2006. Nearly one year later, and there’s still no sign of the source code for any of their plugins. There are currently 10 plugins, according to the abovementioned Official Chameleon page.
I think I’m right in saying that under the GPL, they are only obligated to give the source code to the people they distribute Chameleon to, which means they are not obligated to release it for free for anyvody to download via the internet.
But the source for the Chameleon Menu Manager is supposedly listed here, but if you click on it you get a 404. The source has been removed now?
I think in the interests of the WordPress community, it would be best for all concerned if Martin and Flip released the source for all their Chameleon plugins. As long as they are found to state clearly to Chameleon users that Chameleon is a modified version of WordPress, I see no problem in them redistrubting WordPress and making money out of it. Indeed, kudos to them for coming up with a smart innovation! I wish I had thought of it!
Just read about this today. I don’t think Flip did anything wrong. As I understand the GPL, anyone is free to modify WordPress, and then redistribute it (for a fee, if they wish), as long as they clearly inform the people who they distribute it to that they modified WordPress and give links to the WordPress site etc.
Some people say that initially Flip passed off Chameleon as their own home-made work, and the ITP article here mentioned above seems to corroborate that. I don’t know whether Martin did or did not initially credit WordPress, but he seems to be doing so now, at the official Chameleon page. I would like to see Martin clarify the statement made on the ITP by “Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, account director at Flip Media”, where he said that Chameleon is home-made: “For example, our content management system Chameleon – which will cost anywhere from 20-30,000 Dirhams (US $5449 – $8174). This is a bulletproof, home-made system that clients can use to update their sites themselves, without needing technical knowledge. It enables clients to make their site better, every day.”
However, according to Martin’s comment a href=”http://technosailor.com/gpl-licensing-find-your-way-through-this-mess/#comment-9410″>above, he was going to release the source code for Chameleon. That was posted in July 2006. Nearly one year later, and there’s still no sign of the source code for any of their plugins. There are currently 10 plugins, according to the abovementioned Official Chameleon page.
I think I’m right in saying that under the GPL, they are only obligated to give the source code to the people they distribute Chameleon to, which means they are not obligated to release it for free for anyvody to download via the internet.
But the source for the Chameleon Menu Manager is supposedly listed here, but if you click on it you get a 404. The source has been removed now?
I think in the interests of the WordPress community, it would be best for all concerned if Martin and Flip released the source for all their Chameleon plugins. As long as they are found to state clearly to Chameleon users that Chameleon is a modified version of WordPress, I see no problem in them redistrubting WordPress and making money out of it. Indeed, kudos to them for coming up with a smart innovation! I wish I had thought of it!
Just read about this today. I don’t think Flip did anything wrong. As I understand the GPL, anyone is free to modify WordPress, and then redistribute it (for a fee, if they wish), as long as they clearly inform the people who they distribute it to that they modified WordPress and give links to the WordPress site etc.
Some people say that initially Flip passed off Chameleon as their own home-made work, and the ITP article here mentioned above seems to corroborate that. I don’t know whether Martin did or did not initially credit WordPress, but he seems to be doing so now, at the official Chameleon page. I would like to see Martin clarify the statement made on the ITP by “Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, account director at Flip Media”, where he said that Chameleon is home-made: “For example, our content management system Chameleon – which will cost anywhere from 20-30,000 Dirhams (US $5449 – $8174). This is a bulletproof, home-made system that clients can use to update their sites themselves, without needing technical knowledge. It enables clients to make their site better, every day.”
However, according to Martin’s comment a href=”http://technosailor.com/gpl-licensing-find-your-way-through-this-mess/#comment-9410″>above, he was going to release the source code for Chameleon. That was posted in July 2006. Nearly one year later, and there’s still no sign of the source code for any of their plugins. There are currently 10 plugins, according to the abovementioned Official Chameleon page.
I think I’m right in saying that under the GPL, they are only obligated to give the source code to the people they distribute Chameleon to, which means they are not obligated to release it for free for anyvody to download via the internet.
But the source for the Chameleon Menu Manager is supposedly listed here, but if you click on it you get a 404. The source has been removed now?
I think in the interests of the WordPress community, it would be best for all concerned if Martin and Flip released the source for all their Chameleon plugins. As long as they are found to state clearly to Chameleon users that Chameleon is a modified version of WordPress, I see no problem in them redistrubting WordPress and making money out of it. Indeed, kudos to them for coming up with a smart innovation! I wish I had thought of it!
I heard thousands of complains from companies using CMS:-
first, there was no mention of WP anywhere . they claimed that it’s their own product.
second, the flippers aren’t really ready to give support and DEBUG the 10,000 bug they have in that system. they’ll give you a hard time. you’ll have to pay for them to fix their own bugs–when you’re supposed to receive a bug-free solution.
- i heard that the flippers went to the child-level and actually closed some of the sites, or locked the control panel access. *Imagine* jeopardizing companies business and image
and the list goes on…!
btw, they dont offer their service for 25,000 Dhs. they request way more than this.
I heard thousands of complains from companies using CMS:-
first, there was no mention of WP anywhere . they claimed that it’s their own product.
second, the flippers aren’t really ready to give support and DEBUG the 10,000 bug they have in that system. they’ll give you a hard time. you’ll have to pay for them to fix their own bugs–when you’re supposed to receive a bug-free solution.
- i heard that the flippers went to the child-level and actually closed some of the sites, or locked the control panel access. *Imagine* jeopardizing companies business and image
and the list goes on…!
btw, they dont offer their service for 25,000 Dhs. they request way more than this.
I heard thousands of complains from companies using CMS:-
first, there was no mention of WP anywhere . they claimed that it’s their own product.
second, the flippers aren’t really ready to give support and DEBUG the 10,000 bug they have in that system. they’ll give you a hard time. you’ll have to pay for them to fix their own bugs–when you’re supposed to receive a bug-free solution.
- i heard that the flippers went to the child-level and actually closed some of the sites, or locked the control panel access. *Imagine* jeopardizing companies business and image
and the list goes on…!
btw, they dont offer their service for 25,000 Dhs. they request way more than this.
I heard thousands of complains from companies using CMS:-
first, there was no mention of WP anywhere . they claimed that it’s their own product.
second, the flippers aren’t really ready to give support and DEBUG the 10,000 bug they have in that system. they’ll give you a hard time. you’ll have to pay for them to fix their own bugs–when you’re supposed to receive a bug-free solution.
- i heard that the flippers went to the child-level and actually closed some of the sites, or locked the control panel access. *Imagine* jeopardizing companies business and image
and the list goes on…!
btw, they dont offer their service for 25,000 Dhs. they request way more than this.
I heard thousands of complains from companies using CMS:-
first, there was no mention of WP anywhere . they claimed that it’s their own product.
second, the flippers aren’t really ready to give support and DEBUG the 10,000 bug they have in that system. they’ll give you a hard time. you’ll have to pay for them to fix their own bugs–when you’re supposed to receive a bug-free solution.
- i heard that the flippers went to the child-level and actually closed some of the sites, or locked the control panel access. *Imagine* jeopardizing companies business and image
and the list goes on…!
btw, they dont offer their service for 25,000 Dhs. they request way more than this.
I heard thousands of complains from companies using CMS:-
first, there was no mention of WP anywhere . they claimed that it’s their own product.
second, the flippers aren’t really ready to give support and DEBUG the 10,000 bug they have in that system. they’ll give you a hard time. you’ll have to pay for them to fix their own bugs–when you’re supposed to receive a bug-free solution.
- i heard that the flippers went to the child-level and actually closed some of the sites, or locked the control panel access. *Imagine* jeopardizing companies business and image
and the list goes on…!
btw, they dont offer their service for 25,000 Dhs. they request way more than this.
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