This plug in is violating the GPL license

  • Resolved kifohob554

    (@kifohob554)


    4 years, 2 months ago

    Your plugin claims to be licensed under GPLv2 or later. Yet it only provides a minified version of your flip book plug in.

    The terms of the GNU GPL require that the source code for an executable be made available in one of the ways the GPL permits. If the Javascript is minified or obfuscated the GPL would require that the corresponding source code be made available. This is also very useful in cases where multiple Javascript libraries are being served minified and concatenated into a single document.

    FSF has written a guide to releasing your Javascript as free software, available here: https://www.gnu.org/software/librejs/free-your-javascript.html

    Please provide full source code to your plug in or remove it from the WordPress directory. You are abusing the terms of the FSF in order to sell licenses.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Plugin Author deip

    (@deip)

    Hi,

    Yeah the wordpress plugin code is available in non minified version. You can check.

    The flipbook code is actually a jquery plugin that is different plugin, and is not under gpl,

    https://github.com/dearhive/dearflip-jquery-flipbook
    It follows custom license

    This wordpress plugin is just a wrapper around it. So you get all the source code for the wrapper.

    Not the flipbook.

    Does GPL says that any other library we use should also be released as GPL?

    The wordpress related part is fully available with source code.

    Best,
    DearHive

    • This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by deip.

    Looks like all of it needs to be under GPL. See: https://developer.www.ads-software.com/plugins/wordpress-org/detailed-plugin-guidelines/#1-plugins-must-be-compatible-with-the-gnu-general-public-license

    Plugin Author deip

    (@deip)

    What about jQuery? that is not GPL it’s MIT license. Even wordpress uses it.

    That is not included as non minified version?

    MIT is a GPL compatible license. The license you have for the flipbook plugin is not GPL compatible.

    “The Non-commercial and No Derivatives elements both conflict with the FSF’s free software definition, so no license that includes either of these is compatible with the GPL.”

    See:
    https://www.linux.com/news/trouble-artwork-and-free-software-licenses/

    Plugin Author deip

    (@deip)

    Ok, so if this lite version gets a MIT version of jquery plugin, then this lite wp version can include the minified code of jquery version? Just like wordpress includes minified code of jquery?

    Does that solve the problem?

    Plugin Author deip

    (@deip)

    There are many other solutions available:

    One full proof is: Not to include the minified JS code in this WordPress Repo and ask the users to get a core plugin from a different source, GitHub, that adds the jQuery core part. That keeps the violation away but this creates trouble for the users.

    We are open to finding a way that keeps minimizes the trouble to the users.
    We hope we can conclude to one ??

    • This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by deip.
Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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