
I Found Myself Accused of Stealing Code from WordPress - molloy
https://medium.com/@talkol/how-i-found-myself-accused-of-stealing-code-from-wordpress-a7350da9f9f2#.g8h9b4eql
======
vmasto
Correct me if I'm wrong but this post does nothing to explain why the license
of Wix's library is MIT while based on prior art which was GPL, thus
infringing on the GPL license, which is the whole point Matt is discussing
about in his initial post.

~~~
zizee
Wix's library appears to be a wrapper for Wordpress's GPL library. I am not a
GPL expert, but I believe that Wix has the right to publish their wrapper code
using any license they like. Publishing their code as MIT is not the same as
them trying to change the license of someone elses code. Wix explicitly state
it in their github repo:

> Code in this git repo is licensed MIT, please consider the licenses of the
> dependencies separately.

With a link to the Wordpress library.

Regardless, reading Matt's original post, I see that his complaint was not
about relicensing at all. It was more to do with whether Wix's app is allowed
to use Wordpress's GPL'd code, without attribution or providing the source to
their entire application.

The whole thing (IMHO) boils down to whether you can use a GPL'd lib in a
codebase without having to:

1\. provide attribution

2\. apply GPL your entire codebase

I believe 1 is not required. A quick google says 2 is not "ok". If you use a
GPL lib in your application, you must open source your entire application
(LGPL is the GPL license created to allow you to use a GPL lib without
"infecting" your codebase with the GPL).

That said, I can understand someone misunderstanding the implications GPL and
believing they don't have to open source their work that utilises a GPL
library.

What I believe should have happened is that Matt from WP should have reached
out Tai from Wix and quietly informed them of their obligations WRT using
their GPL'd license, giving Wix the opportunity to correct what could have
been an honest mistake.

Taking this public and accusing people of "stealing"[0], as a first step, is a
selfish action will make people even more wary of using GPL'd code in their
projects.

[0] I hate it when people abuse the word "stealing" WRT intellectual property
rights, it smacks of either dishonesty or ignorance.

~~~
toyg
Mullenwegg sees Wix as a competitor, so he has no incentive to keep it on the
quiet. If more people stay away from Wordpress code to build Wordpress
competitors, that's a net win for him.

The GPL is extremely protective of the code it covers. This protection can be
used positively ("hey man, if you use my code it's only fair that you share
yours, wanna collaborate?") or negatively ("dude, you used that code in ways
you are not supposed to - stop immediately and stay away from it if you don't
understand how it works"). This is why it's a bloody good license, for people
who understand it and are ready to enforce it.

~~~
toomuchtodo
> This is why it's a bloody good license, for people who understand it and are
> ready to enforce it.

One of the direct intentions of the GPL was to prevent freeloading (which the
MIT license allows).

------
mgiannopoulos
Blog post from WiX CEO [http://www.wix.com/blog/2016/10/dear-matt-mullenweg-
an-open-...](http://www.wix.com/blog/2016/10/dear-matt-mullenweg-an-open-
letter-from-wix-coms-ceo-avishai-abrahami/)

~~~
revelation
Wow, the ongoing ignorance here is really not doing them any favors. They
really need to stop talking here if Mullenweg wants to escalate this into a
legal claim.

This could be construed willful:

    
    
      Yes, we did use the WordPress open source library for a minor part of the application

------
toyg
This is all well and good but doesn't change the fact that the Wix app is
violating the GPL. They need to fix it. I don't see any commitment from Wix or
Tal Kol that this will happen.

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snissn
Could someone please explain whether or how an iPhone app has PHP code from
Wordpress included with it?

~~~
stphnclysmth
The Wordpress application also includes frontend code, including the
HTML/Javascript library that is at issue in this dispute.

~~~
snissn
Oh great, thanks! If the app wasn't distributed with the html/css/js but
downloaded from a server, would that skirt around the GPL requirements?

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KayL
If I writing an APP to APP Store, and I don't want to give the FULL source
code away. I must not use GPL code. Is it?

~~~
Ded7xSEoPKYNsDd
Pretty much, yes. That's the whole point of the GPL.

