Why remove the license?

The GPL is a great license for most users. It gives a lot of flexibility with what you can and can't do with the code. Though, it might not work for all cases. The commercial license for CMS Made Simple helps to get around the stickier points of the GPL and make the system work for your individual project.

We've created this option because of the increasing number of requests that we've received. We usually try to help decipher the details of the GPL in these cases, but it still might not be the perfect solution.

This license exclusion option basically allows you to remove the copyright messages throughout the codebase legally. The permission is valid for the lifetime of (1) one specific domain name to use with all future versions of CMS Made Simple.

Proceeds from this option help fund the further development of the project.

Do I have to purchase this to use CMS Made Simple in a commercial project?

Absolutely not! The terms of the GPL allow you to use the software as you see fit. The restrictions deal more with intellectual properties and less with usage. You can use it on a commercial project. You can make the site look and feel how you want. You can even change the theme in the admin panel. Really, the only thing you can't do is remove copyright notices in the codebase.*

Most usages will not care about this fact. But, there are the odd projects out there where the code has to belong to another business owner for whatever reason (contractual obligations, general fear of open source software, etc). This is a stopgap solution for those instances.

Remember: This is an exception, not the rule! Make sure it's the right choice for your project's needs.

*It also doesn't allow for distribution of modifications, but this license exclusion doesn't allow that either.

How much?

The cost is $299 USD for a lifetime on one domain name. This includes unlimited sub-domains for the given domain.

Do you have volume discounts?

Yes. Volume prices are as follows:

  • 5 sites licenses $995 USD ($199/each)
  • 10 sites licenses $1,490 USD ($149/each)
  • 50 sites licenses $4,950 USD ($99/each)

Do you have any non-profit or educational organizations discounts?

No. There isn't any discount available for commercial licenses other than volume discount.

Do I get anything else included in the price?

Nope. The same rules apply as they do with the GPL. Mainly, there is still no warranty on the project, and it does not include or guarantee any support. We will definitely not support any changes that have been made to the codebase after the removal of the license.

How do I proceed?

  • Send an email to ted@cmsmadesimple.org. Include all contact information and the name of the domain(s) that this license removal will be applied to.
  • Wait for a reply to make sure that the approval can be granted. The final price will also be included in the case of volume discounts.
  • Make the payment using the Donate Now button on the left side of all of the pages on the cmsmadesimple.org site. This will go through Paypal. Paypal does accept credit cards. However, we're sorry, there are no other ways to collect payments at this time.
  • Make sure you receive a confirmation from Paypal for your payment.
  • Feel free to start removing the copyright messages and other items from the code.

What you CAN do with this License Exclusion?

  • Remove any copyright messages belonging to or pertaining to Ted Kulp, cmsmadesimple.org or CMS Made Simple from the core system (all files that do not reside in the modules directory) and the following modules:
    • News
    • Menu Manager
    • Module Manager
    • Search
    • Theme Manager
    • CMSMailer (nothing inside the phpmailer directory)
    • nuSOAP (nothing inside the classes directory)
    • FCKeditorX (nothing inside the FCKeditor directory)
  • Remove any branding or references to CMS Made Simple
  • Remove the COPYING.txt file distributed in the doc directory of the download

What CAN'T I do with this License Exclusion?

  • Remove any copyrights not belonging to or pertaining to Ted Kulp, cmsmadesimple.org or CMS Made Simple. We do include code from other open source projects in our system. Removal of those other copyrights is STRICTLY prohibited
  • Transfer this license to anyone (another domain or owner)
  • Remove any copyrights in a site with a domain name different to the authorized one