Theme license

[greg_d128]

Is it possible to use/create a theme for coppermine that is not GPL? Is there a license for themes?

Reason for asking:
I would like to use some paid stock photography to create some themes (or have them created). The photos themselves are paid for and their license is not compatible with GPL.

Greg

[kegobeer]

If you create a theme for Coppermine, it's up to you if you want to release it or not.  If you choose to release it, you don't have to release it under the GPL.

[Joachim Müller]

well, not totally true. If you have a theme created that is based on a GPLed theme, the resulting theme will be under GPL as well. But as kegobeer suggested: if you have a custom theme created, you're free to use it without releasing it. You're even allowed to sell it, but it will be under GNU GPL, which just means that you will have to give users access to the source your theme is based on: this is only natural with a theme, as it is the source code.
For details on GNU GPL licensing issues, read http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html - especially the FAQ section.

[donnoman]

Nothing says the IMAGES you use are gpl'd, only the source. You could supply a theme without the graphics, or with generic placeholder graphics.

For example, my theme hardwood was originally designed with a logo in the upper right and it was based on Rainy Day that was a GPL Coppermine theme. Nobody would have WANTED that logo, because it was specific to the site the modified theme was created for. However I released the theme with a generic panel in that images place that maintained the look and feel.

I haven't recieved any complaints and I don't see replacing graphics in a theme as modifying the source, such that you would be forced to supply proprietary graphics as part of maintaining the GPL license on a modified theme.

YMMV I'm not a lawyer, and I don't really know all the nuances of GPL. 

[Joachim Müller]

YMMV I'm not a lawyer, and I don't really know all the nuances of GPL. 

even the GNU or OSI people don't