Hello guys.
I have already read numerous threads regarding a proper license for SaaS purposes.
I would like to ask you which licenses should I choose for each of the following use cases:
If I purchase a WordPress plugin on CC and then sell instance access for a yearly fee for each of my clients (SaaS, bascially), a Regular license separate for each client covers this, yes? I don’t want to sell the product as a script for each of my clients, like here on CodeCanyon. I just want to sell an access to the services the script provides hosted on my server with additional services like SSL certificate and access to a plugin’s updates that I will be manually deploying. I will also be installing WordPress instance along with a CC plugin myself.
Will it be legal for me for this use case to buy a separate Regular license of a CC plugin for each client and sell them an access (yearly subscription) to a CC plugin’s services that will be hosted on my servers?
Client won’t have an access to a CC plugin’s source code, because I won’t give them an access to an FTP area where the WordPress instance along with a CC plugin are installed. Client will only have an access to a WordPress dashboard itself with a CC plugin installed.
Will this be legal according to GNU GPL licenses that are additionally included within the source codes of each of your plugins?
If I purchase a WordPress plugin on CC and then sell only a server space for hosting a CC plugin that will be a free addon to a hosting plan and other services like SSL certificate, a Regular license separate for each client also covers this, yes?
In this case I just want to sell (yearly subscription) a server space with some additional services like SSL certificate, WordPress and plugin installation service, etc. In this use case the CC plugin will be a free addon (fact mentioned on a landing page and Terms of Service). CC plugin manual updates performed by me will also be free.
Will it be legal for me for this use case to buy a separate Regular license of a plugin for each client and sell them server resources for hosting WordPress and CC plugin (yearly subscription)?
In this use case a client also won’t have an access to a source code, because I won’t give them an access to an FTP area where the WordPress instance is installed. Client will only have an access to a WordPress dashboard itself with a plugin installed.
Will this be legal according to GNU GPL licenses that are additionally included within the source codes of each of your plugins?
I noticed that CC plugins are sold on CodeCanyon along with Envato licenses (Regular and Extended), however all of them also have GNU GPL licenses additionally included within the source codes of each of your plugins. How Envato licenses relate to GNU GPL licenses?
Do I have to give my clients an access to source codes of plugins purchased on CodeCanyon to be compliant with GNU GPL license terms even if I don’t give my client’s an FTP access to the server area where their separate WP instances along with CC plugin are installed? Will this be legal in my SaaS business model?
According to this article that covers the problem of the SaaS Loophole in GPL Open Source Licenses: The SaaS Loophole In GPL Open Source Licenses
, when it comes to GNU GPL licenses of scripts that are sold in SaaS business model,
much of the confusion has to do with the real meaning of the word “distributed” when it comes to software. This is an important distinction, since as long as you aren’t distributing your code, you don’t need to share it, and the answer is more nuanced than you might expect.
For example, the GPL considers sending Javascript to the browser to be distribution of code, and that means that if you happen to be using a GPL library as part of the Javascript sent to users, then the loophole does not apply. In this case you will need to share your client-side source code. Considering the dominance of Javascript in web development, finding a SaaS product that is 100% Javascript-free is quite a challenge.
Today almost all of the scripts available on CC use JavaScript, so apparently there is a problem with the software distribution under GNU GPL licenses and the SaaS Loophole in GPL Open Source Licenses.
Are Envato licenses superior to GNU GPL licenses that are attached to every product sold on CC?
Having all of that in mind, how Envato licenses and GNU GPL licenses for CC scripts sold on your platform relate to each other and SaaS business model?
For SaaS, you need to get the extended license which covers your usecase. Basically, if you purchase a product but access to the product is through a paywall, in your case users will be allowed to use or view the plugin only after payment hence the extended license.
As for GPL and split licensing, this does not affect you at all. That’s because you are only hosting the application behind a paywall. The end user does not get to download the item but rather gets limited access and use the product through your web application.
Thank you for a fast and kind answer.
And what if I will decide to implement a second use case mentioned above?
If I purchase a WordPress plugin on CC and then sell only a server space for hosting a CC plugin that will be a free addon to a hosting plan and other services like SSL certificate, a Regular license separate for each client also covers this, yes?
In this case I just want to sell (yearly subscription) a server space with some additional services like SSL certificate, WordPress and plugin installation service, etc. In this use case the CC plugin will be a free addon (fact mentioned on a landing page and Terms of Service). CC plugin manual updates performed by me will also be free.
Will it be legal for me for this use case to buy a separate Regular license of a plugin for each client and sell them server resources for hosting WordPress and CC plugin (yearly subscription)?
In this use case a client also won’t have an access to a source code, because I won’t give them an access to an FTP area where the WordPress instance is installed. Client will only have an access to a WordPress dashboard itself with a plugin installed.
Will this be legal according to GNU GPL licenses that are additionally included within the source codes of each of your plugins?
Extended license is way too expensive for my business model, even if I will charge yearly. What if I will offer a plugin as a free addon to a particular hosting plan and it will be mentioned on my product’s landing page and website’s Terms of Service? A CodeCanyon plugin will be a free addon to a particular hosting plan and client will only have to pay for server resources along with additional services like SSL certificate, anti-DDoS protection, domain name, etc.
Will a separate Regular license purchased by me for each of my clients be sufficient?
None of the licenses allow you to distribute the item as is, neither free or paid. It’s got to be part of a larger item for the particular usecase you mention. Otherwise you’d be competing with the original author (conflict of interest).
Not only it has got to be part of a larger item but the larger item has to do some other task, different from the item you are integrating.
For instance, if you purchase an image gallery, your larger product cannot be the ultimate image gallery with beefed up features. It’s got to be a completely different product, for example a CMS.
Additionally, you will have to take the responsibility to protect the product and ensure that nobody buys your CMS and then strips out the product and uses it as is. The product you integrated has to be used along with your CMS as a whole. You need to put this in your TOS when selling your CMS.
Your free addon use case is not allowed but rather, ask your customers to buy the plugin from codecanyon or you can buy a regular license for your customer on their behalf I guess, which is odd but works because it is ethical and the original author benefits.
rather, ask your customers to buy the plugin from codecanyon or you can buy a regular license for your customer on their behalf I guess, which is odd but works because it is ethical and the original author benefits.
That is what I want to achieve. I want to buy a Regular license for each of my customers from my Envato account and install for them WordPress along with a services booking plugin from CodeCanyon. I want to charge each of my clients a monthly or yearly fee for maintaining a WordPress instance for them along with a CC plugin I purchased for them within my Envato account. I only want to charge a monthly fee for offering a hosting solution for WP and CC plugin and for manually updating the plugin from CC along with WordPress. In this use case a client also won’t have an access to a source code, because I won’t give them an access to an FTP area where the WordPress instance is installed. Client will only have an access to a WordPress dashboard itself with a plugin installed.
I don’t want to use one Regular license for all of my customers, because it violates Envato ToS. It is not even possible, because the CC plugin that I want to install for my clients requires a separate license key in order to work properly. I want to buy a separate Regular licenses for each of my clients.
None of the licenses allow you to distribute the item as is, neither free or paid. It’s got to be part of a larger item for the particular usecase you mention. Otherwise you’d be competing with the original author (conflict of interest).
I don’t want to sell the plugin myself and compete with the original author. I want to make the opposite - Purchase a separate Regular license of CC plugin for each of my clients and thus help the original author to gain more income (250 clients = 250 Regular licenses = income for the original author of the plugin itself and income for me for installing WordPress on my hosting along with a CC plugin and providing my client with a hosting space, frequent WP and CC plugin updates). I would only charge my clients a monthly or yearly fee for maintaining the WordPress instance along with a CC plugin providing my customers with updates and support. This means profit for an original author from each of my clients and profit for me for maintaining WordPress instance along with CC plugin for my clients.
Is that legal and possible according to Envato license terms and ToS itself?
Seems very much like what a freelancer does, is it not?
I’m a freelancer/agency. Can I use the item for an end product I’m doing for a client?
Yes. You’re essentially buying the file on your client’s behalf. Whether a regular or Extended License is needed will depend on your client’s use of the end product. With both the regular and Extended License you are allowed to charge your client for creating the End Product. Once you transfer the end product to the client (eg giving them source files for the item), be sure to link your client to our licenses and delete the item itself from your computer.
Why don’t you contact Envato support and ask them directly. Perhaps even link to this thread. For licensing questions, they are the ones that can give you a definitive answer.
Thank you for your answers. I contacted Envato right after posting this thread, however I did not receive any reply. I guess I have to wait a bit longer for them to reply to my questions.