Bypassing pro features of a plugin with CSS? Legal?

  • selimoezkan

    (@selimoezkan)


    10 months ago

    Hi everyone,

    I’m currently looking at some plugins for WooCommerce.
    Some of them offer with their pro-version changing colors of certain fields, change fonts, etc.

    But what if I installed the free version of the same plugin and simply changed the colors of the fields via CSS?

    For example:

    Change from:

    .pro-feature-style {
    background-color: var(–wpt_secondary) !important;
    }

    to:

    .pro-feature-style {
    background-color: green !important;
    }

    Is this legal, as I would be bypassing the pro-version of a plugin?

    Many thanks

    Cheers
    Selim

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • WP Provider

    (@wpprovider)

    10 months ago

    Hi Selim!

    While I am not a legal expert, generally modifying the CSS of a free version to customize styles might be technically feasible, but it may not be ethical or aligned with the plugin’s terms of use. The pro version often includes additional features and customization options as part of a paid license. Using the free version and altering its styles to mimic pro features or hiding a powered by string could potentially violate the plugin’s terms of service.

    I recommend reviewing the the terms of use or licensing agreements of the specific plugin you’re working with. Even better reaching out to the plugin’s support or community forums to seek clarification on whether your intended use is compliant would be advisable.

    Have a nice day!

    Thread Starter selimoezkan

    (@selimoezkan)

    10 months ago

    Many thanks for your reply. This is exactly why I put the question here.
    It seems to me the right thing to do.

    George Appiah

    (@gappiah)

    10 months ago

    WordPress, plugins and themes are all GPL-licensed. Please see: https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/getting-started/wordpress-licensing-the-gpl/

    If you’re using the free version of any plugin or theme, it’s 100% legitimate to add/edit the code to extend the capabilities of what you’ve installed. That’s the whole selling point of open-source software and the GPL license. Whether your “extension” is available as a feature in the paid version of the plugin does not matter at all.

    What would surely be unethical (even if allowed by the GPL license) is installing the paid version and editing the code to bypass its license checks.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • The topic ‘Bypassing pro features of a plugin with CSS? Legal?’ is closed to new replies.