: Can I remove the footer copyright from a bought website theme? I'd like to know if it's legal to remove the footer copyright from a website theme, in this specific case a Wordpress theme.

@Gretchen104

I think it is not right to remove the footer copyright info.

Similar examples:


Do you remove the "BMW" or "Porsche" badge from the car which you bought?
Do you remove the "Apple" or "Samsung" label from your phone or notebook?


If you are not removing labels and badges of manufacturers from other products so why do you want to remove developer's copyright info from WordPress theme?
WordPress theme is the same product like car or gadget.

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@YK1175434

Here's what I understand about WordPress licensing: According to the WordPress license, anything created for WordPress (a derivative work) holds the GPL license. WordPress takes a strict interpretation of the license which dictates that all parts of that thing, be it CSS, HTML, Javascript and even graphics, are also GPL. This applies even if the theme author gave the theme a different license. So you can do anything to anything created that runs on/for WordPress, including removing footer links.

To be considerate and still give attribution to the theme author, you can do so in code comments or in the main style sheet that states the theme name, author, etc.

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@Angela700

It depends on how the theme was licensed when it was purchased. If you look at the original theme files there will likely be a license file with more information - if not, check the theme webpage that it was purchased from. Odds are you can remove it, but always check the license first. When in doubt, contact the theme author directly.

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@Lee4591628

If site's owner paid I think so, but it depends on the terms of the agreement.
Read the terms where you bought the theme.

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