views:

91

answers:

4

I have downloaded a WordPress Theme that has a GNU licence. I need to modify it quite a bit to make it compatible with my site.

How does the licensing work on this? The original had a "Designed by X" in the footer but now I have made changes, I'm sure they won't want to look like they created it any more as it is not the same as the original.

Should I say "based on a design by X"? or do I have to say anything now that it has been modified?

I've tried reading the GNU documentation but it's not that clear and I don't want to break any rules

A: 

You should keep the original author notice intact to modify it. See this for more info.

Sarfraz
Not sure what I'm looking for in there - it's very generic. The statement currently says X designed by Company YShould I change to say "Modifed version of X, originally designed by Company Y"
Graeme
+1  A: 

For modifications, you need to pay special attention to section "5. Conveying Modified Source Versions". In particular, the notices you need to give are:

  • a) The work must carry prominent notices stating that you modified it, and giving a relevant date.

  • b) The work must carry prominent notices stating that it is released under this License and any conditions added under section 7. This requirement modifies the requirement in section 4 to “keep intact all notices”.

As for how to interpret that language for a specific work: read the FSF's GPL FAQ, then consult your legal advisor.

bignose
How prominent is prominent? That's a lot of info to put on the page. Is in the source ok do you think?
Graeme
A: 

According to this: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html (as the striked one will probably link to newer version in the future)

(5. Conveying Modified Source Versions.)

You may convey a work based on the Program, or the modifications to produce it from the Program, in the form of source code under the terms of section 4, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:

a) The work must carry prominent notices stating that you modified it, and giving a relevant date.

b) The work must carry prominent notices stating that it is released under this License and any conditions added under section 7. This requirement modifies the requirement in section 4 to “keep intact all notices”.

c) You must license the entire work, as a whole, under this License to anyone who comes into possession of a copy. This License will therefore apply, along with any applicable section 7 additional terms, to the whole of the work, and all its parts, regardless of how they are packaged. This License gives no permission to license the work in any other way, but it does not invalidate such permission if you have separately received it.

d) If the work has interactive user interfaces, each must display Appropriate Legal Notices; however, if the Program has interactive interfaces that do not display Appropriate Legal Notices, your work need not make them do so.

A compilation of a covered work with other separate and independent works, which are not by their nature extensions of the covered work, and which are not combined with it such as to form a larger program, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, is called an “aggregate” if the compilation and its resulting copyright are not used to limit the access or legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual works permit. Inclusion of a covered work in an aggregate does not cause this License to apply to the other parts of the aggregate.

Of course this is not legal advice

Tomasz Zielinski
A: 

If you are not distributing the software, you can benefit from what is called the web services loophole. Unless the affero version of GPL is used, you do not need to make any changes available to others than those who have the binaries of the software. Just using the software over web does not count.

However, I think you still need to mention the authors as usual, but I am not a lawyer...

Tronic
If it's HTML/CSS on a public website, then I suppose it is "conveyed". Wouldn't you say?
TRiG