I am working on a plugin that is not GPL. It is a premium plugin that is not open sourced.
The documentation on embedding ACF in your own plugin states:
You can include the (free) Advanced Custom Fields plugin within a free or premium theme/plugin.
http://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/including-acf-in-a-plugin-theme/?version=4
I would like to embed the free version of ACF, but, if my understanding is correct ACF is licensed as GPL. GPL requires that if I include ACF in my premium plugin, then my premium plugin must also be GPL.
Is this correct?
This is really splitting legal hairs since WP is GPL and whether or not you make you’re plugin GPL or not…. While many, including myself respect the right of people to make money from their work, once someone has a copy of the plugin there’s really nothing preventing them from doing what they want with it. There are plenty people that will tell you that you’re plugin will be GPL because WP is, even if you say it’s not.
This argument rages all over the internet and I’m sure you can find plenty of opinions if you search.
That being neither here nor their…
I think the important part when it comes to ACF is that you’re not distributing the premium version of ACF for free, at least that’s my take on the statements on https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/including-acf-in-a-plugin-theme/
I would like to embed the free version of ACF, but, if my understanding is correct ACF is licensed as GPL. GPL requires that if I include ACF in my premium plugin, then my premium plugin must also be GPL.
Yes that would be a correct understanding of the GPL.
Aside from that though, even if you don’t include ACF, as John stated it is quite possible your plugin could be judged to be a derivative of WordPress… which would mean it has to be GPL’ed anyway.
However, as I’ve written here, I think the statements in the article on including ACF in a plugin also contravene the GPL.
