1. What is the GNU General Public License (GPL)?
The GNU General Public License (GPL) is the world's most widely adopted free and open-source software license, authored by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). WordPress core itself is released under the GNU GPL v2 (or later).
The GPL was created to guarantee end-users four fundamental freedoms:
- Freedom 0: The freedom to run the software program for any purpose, on any number of websites, without restriction.
- Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works and adapt it to your needs.
- Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute and share copies of the program to help others.
- Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program and release your improvements to the public.
2. Why Are WordPress Plugins & Themes GPL?
WordPress is licensed under the GPLv2. According to legal precedent and the official position of the WordPress Foundation, WordPress plugins and themes that interact directly with WordPress core functions, hooks, and database schemas are considered derivative works and are therefore governed by the copyleft provisions of the GNU General Public License.
Because original developers choose to release their software under the GPL to operate on top of WordPress, they grant all recipients the perpetual, irrevocable right to run, modify, and redistribute the software code.
3. Is Redistribution on Addonry 100% Legal?
Yes, absolutely. Redistributing GPL-licensed software is explicitly permitted and protected by the terms of the GNU General Public License.
When original developers distribute GPL software, they cannot legally revoke or restrict the freedom of downstream users to redistribute copies. As stated by the Free Software Foundation:
"If you have paid for a copy of a GPL-covered program, the GPL gives you the freedom to redistribute copies, whether gratis or for a fee, to anybody anywhere."
At Addonry, we legally exercise this right. We charge a reasonable fee for our infrastructure services, including:
- Curating and maintaining an updated repository of widely used tools.
- Multi-engine malware inspection (ClamAV) and ZIP structural integrity checks.
- Fast, secure, authenticated delivery via Cloudflare R2 and global edge gateways.
- Automated update notifications and one-click installs via our Addonry Manager plugin.
4. Why Don't You Provide License Keys?
Original plugin developers typically charge annual subscription fees of $100 to $500 per site. What are you actually paying for when you buy from the original author?
- Direct Author Support: One-on-one technical assistance and debugging from the author's support engineers.
- Proprietary Author Clouds: Access to the author's private cloud template servers, proprietary AI endpoints, or proprietary update APIs.
- A License Key: A proprietary digital activation key required to authenticate with the author's private server.
The software itself does NOT require a license key to function. Under the GPL, all core PHP, CSS, and JavaScript features in the software are fully functional out of the box. License keys are solely used to unlock direct vendor support tickets and author-hosted automatic updates.
If your business requires direct author technical support or proprietary vendor cloud template syncing, we always encourage you to purchase a commercial license directly from the original developer. If you only require the clean, verified GPL software and updates, Addonry provides an accessible, cost-effective alternative.
5. Nominative Trademark Fair Use Statement
The names of third-party plugins, themes, and developers displayed on Addonry (e.g. WooCommerce, Elementor, Yoast, Astra, WP Rocket, Gravity Forms) are trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners.
- Addonry uses these third-party names purely descriptively under the legal doctrine of Nominative Fair Use to accurately identify the specific software package and its compatibility.
- Addonry does not use third-party logos or brand assets as our platform identity.
- Our use of third-party names does not imply any sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or affiliation with the trademark owners.
6. Package Integrity & Malware-Free Guarantee
Unlike unverified "nulled" websites that distribute cracked or compromised scripts filled with backdoors, Addonry maintains strict software hygiene standards:
- Original Source Verification: All packages are sourced directly from verified, paid upstream releases.
- Zero Tampering: We do not inject malicious ads, tracking pixels, obfuscated eval code, or hidden backdoors.
- Automated Scanning: Every ZIP file passes ClamAV malware signature checks and integrity checksum matching before release.
- Cryptographic Hashes: Every download grant verified against an immutable SHA-256 hash.
7. Copyright Holder Rights & DMCA Takedown
We respect the intellectual property rights of all creators. If you are a copyright or trademark owner and believe in good faith that any material distributed on Addonry infringes upon your proprietary non-GPL copyright (such as non-GPL proprietary media, fonts, or trademarks), please visit our dedicated compliance portal: