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Got it? Good.">Download</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="headline"> <div class="wrapper"> <h2>The WordPress License</h2> </div> </div> <div id="pagebody"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="col-2" id="sidebar"> <ul class="submenu"> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/">Intro</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/requirements/">Requirements</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/features/">Features</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/testimonials/">Testimonials</a></li> </ul> <ul class="submenu"> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/books/">Books</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/logos/">Logos and Graphics</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/fanart/">Fan Art</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/contact/">Contact</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/domains/">Domains</a></li> <li><a id="subcurrent">GNU Public License</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/privacy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/roadmap/">Roadmap</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/">Philosophy</a></li> <li><a href="/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/stats/">Statistics</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-8"> <p>The license under which the WordPress software is released is the GPLv2 (or later) from the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://www.fsf.org/">Free Software Foundation</a>. A copy of the license is included with every copy of WordPress, but you can also read <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/gpl/">the text of the license</a> here.</p> <p>Part of this license outlines requirements for derivative works, such as plugins or themes. Derivatives of WordPress code inherit the GPL license. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://drupal.org/">Drupal</a>, which has the same GPL license as WordPress, has an excellent page on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://drupal.org/licensing/faq/">licensing as it applies to themes and modules</a> (their word for plugins).</p> <p>There is some legal grey area regarding what is considered a derivative work, but we feel strongly that plugins and themes are derivative work and thus inherit the GPL license. If you disagree, you might want to consider a non-GPL platform such as <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://www.s9y.org/">Serendipity</a> (BSD license) or <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://habariproject.org/en/">Habari</a> (Apache license) instead.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer"> <div class="wrapper"> <p> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/privacy/">Privacy</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/about/license/">License / GPLv2</a>     See also: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.com/?ref=wporg-footer" title="Hassle-free WP hosting">WordPress.com</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.tv/" title="Videos, tutorials, WordCamps">WordPress.TV</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://central.wordcamp.org/" title="Find a WordPress event near your home">WordCamp</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://jobs.wordpress.net/" title="Find or post WordPress jobs">WP Jobs</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://ma.tt/" title="Co-founder of WordPress, an example of what WordPress can do">Matt</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435/http://wordpress.org/news/feed/" class="rsslink">Blog RSS</a> </p> <iframe src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435if_/http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWordPress&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=450&action=like&font=lucida+grande&colorscheme=light&height=80" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;"></iframe> <h6>Code is Poetry</h6> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript">_qoptions={qacct:"p-18-mFEk4J448M"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435js_/http://edge.quantserve.com/quant.js"></script> <noscript><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435im_/http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-18-mFEk4J448M.gif" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/></noscript>  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110812015435js_/http://s.gravatar.com/js/gprofiles.js"></script> </body> </html>