[wp-hackers] Is this legal?

[Andrew Nacin]

On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 4:32 AM, Mike Little <wordpress at zed1.com> wrote:

> On 17 November 2010 08:35, Anthony Cole <anthony at radiopicture.com.au>
> wrote:
>
> > Yes, unfortunately, it does lie within the bounds of the GPL as long as
> > they've done attribution right.
> >
> > -ac
> >
> >
> It's not 'unfortunate': it's what allows people to make money from GPL
> code.
>
> There is no requirement for attribution with the GPL (there is with some of
> the CC licenses, which are not as open and free as the GPL), only that
> copyright notices are kept intact.
>
> The website is selling a 'service' -- a virus checked version of the
> software with a fast download!, and at the bottom of the
> 'send-an-SMS-to-pay-for-it' page, you can download the free
> un-virus-checked
> version. I did, and can confirm that it is exactly the same as the version
> you can get from wordpress.org (though one version behind the latest.)
>
> They seem to be targeting the kind of 'customer' who would normally get
> their 'free' software from a Warez site and regularly expect it to be a
> slow
> download (if you don't pay) and a high probability of containing a virus.
>
> *shrugs* nothing legally wrong here. Move on...
>

They're also offering a direct download link to buddypress.org if you want
to skip the SMS. This just appears to be a niche download.com-like site as
Mike said.

My Spanish is rusty (thankfully, Chrome helps me out) but I also don't even
see where they're selling anything. They're just letting the user know that
SMS can cost money in some situations. Again, *not* that selling it would be
a problem. It's not.

Nacin