October 29, 2016 — In kindergarten you were taught how to share. WordPress is built on the idea of sharing. It’s what makes our community strong and supportive. However, for many of us, this is our business, our livelihood, and so our opinion about the “proper use” of GPL sometimes taints how we code or interact with “the competition.” I’ll share some stories and thoughts that may challenge you point of view – in a good way.

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August 16, 2016 — The GNU General Public License (GPL) is a free (as in freedom) software license that is used by many open source projects, including WordPress. While many of us are probably familiar with the GPL, there are also a number of misconceptions. It’s important, as WordPress professionals, for us to be able to talk about the GPL with our clients and coworkers — both in terms of what the GPL says and also what it doesn’t say. The GPL is based on some extremely powerful ideas, and it’s a shame that they are sometimes misunderstood. If you feel like you could use a refresher, or ideas about how to explain the GPL to people you’re working with, this talk is for you.

Target audience: Anyone interested in getting into GPL products or wanting to learn more about what they’re already doing. This can be building them, purchasing them, or modifying ones that already exist.

Take aways:

What does the GPL actually mean? We’ll cover several examples of what sort of circumstances are and are not permitted under the GPL (as well as the sort of obligations you have when working with GPL-licensed software like WordPress).
How do I make money from GPL products if people can just copy and distribute my work?
What are some common misconceptions people have when talking about the GPL and where can you get some clarification.

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May 12, 2016 — The talk discusses the aspects of WordPress being GPL, and why it’s important for WordPress users, developers and businesses alike.

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April 21, 2016 — WordPress steht unter GPL und verlangt eine solche Lizenz auch für alle Themes und Plugins. Das Ziel ist klar, aber wie ist die Rechtslage wirklich? Chan-Jo erörtert das Konzept des Copyleft-Effekts der GPL-Lizenzen und deren Konsequenzen auf die Softwareentwicklung am Beispiel von Linux, Android und WordPress. Könnten wir Erweiterungen unter kommerzieller Lizenz entwicklen und vertreiben? Ist die Beschränkung moralischer oder juristischer Natur? Wir freuen uns auf eine offene Diskussion mit Fallkonstellationen aus dem Publikum und seiner rechtlichen Bewertung als Open Source Spezialist.

June 2, 2015 — The strength of WordPress is in its licensing under the GPL (GNU General Public Licence). What does the GPL really mean? How does it affect you, your creativity, and your work? How does it protect your freedom?
Get a method for talking about licensing with your “technophobic” clients, friends and family.

May 24, 2015 — Lightning Talk zum Thema GPL und warum sie der Motor für die große Beliebtheit und Verbreitung von WordPress ist.

April 5, 2011

December 3, 2010

July 15, 2010 — Andrew Warner of Mixergy conducts an interview with Matt Mullenweg of Automattic and Chris Pearson of DIYThemes regarding the Thesis theme and the GNU Public License.

Special thanks to Mixergy for sharing this video with WordPress.tv.

October 17, 2009 — Hiromichi Koga’s presentation “Megumi GPL / Commercial Theme” at WordCamp Kyoto 2009 in Japan.

「め組テーマ (GPLとcommercialテーマ)」 小賀浩通氏講演 ワードキャンプ京都2009 （日本語音声）

Video by Hiro Shinohara & Ian Cheung (Messaliberty).