Last revised: August 13, 2026

This guide explains what third-party assets you may use in a WPBay product, its product page, screenshots, videos, documentation, live demo and demo-import content.

You are responsible for ensuring that you own everything you submit or have the licences and permissions required for the way it is used.

This guide supplements the WPBay Seller Agreement and WPBay’s product-specific technical requirements. If this article conflicts with the current technical requirements for your product type, those requirements take precedence.

What is an asset?

An asset is any component used in or alongside your product that you did not create entirely yourself.

Assets may include:

• PHP, JavaScript, CSS or other code;
• libraries, frameworks, SDKs and package-manager dependencies;
• fonts and icon sets;
• photographs, illustrations, video and audio;
• templates, patterns and design files;
• sample data and demo content;
• documentation and copied excerpts;
• datasets, model files and AI-generated material;
• logos, trademarks and images of real-world products.

For example, if you create a travel-agency WordPress theme, the theme is your product. The photographs shown in its live demo are assets.

Preview assets and delivered assets

The rights you need depend on how the asset is used.

An asset does not become “preview only” merely because it is stored on your server. If your product copies, downloads or imports it onto the customer’s website, it is being delivered to that customer.

The same applies to:

• remote template libraries;
• starter-site imports;
• downloadable pattern collections;
• cloud-hosted icon or media packs;
• sample databases;
• assets installed after activation;
• files delivered through a licensing or update server.

The main rule

You may use an asset only when you own it or its licence permits your exact use.

Assets used only in previews

For an asset used exclusively in a WPBay listing or live demo, you must have permission for commercial display and promotional use.

You must also:

• provide attribution when required;
• follow restrictions concerning modification, trademarks, people and property;
• state clearly when the asset is not included with the product;
• avoid implying that the buyer will receive an asset that is only shown in the demo.

A suitable disclosure might be:

The photographs and videos shown in the screenshots and live demo are for demonstration purposes only. They are not included in the product download or demo import.

A watermark is not a licence. Do not use a watermarked stock asset unless the rights owner or stock provider expressly permits that asset to be used in commercial marketplace advertising.

Assets delivered to customers

If an asset is included in the customer’s download or otherwise transferred to the customer, you need rights covering that distribution.

A licence described only as “commercial,” “premium” or “royalty-free” may still prohibit:

• redistribution;
• inclusion in products sold on marketplaces;
• use in templates or stock products;
• providing editable source files;
• allowing customers to extract or reuse the asset;
• sublicensing or downstream distribution.

Buying an asset does not automatically give you the right to include it in a WPBay product.

Before including a third-party asset, confirm that its licence permits:

1. commercial use;
2. reproduction and distribution to customers;
3. inclusion in a plugin, theme, script, template or other paid product;
4. any modification you have made;
5. the number of customers to whom WPBay may deliver it;
6. the rights customers need to use the resulting product;
7. the licence applied to the rest of your product;
8. your intended method of delivery, including remote imports.

If the licence does not clearly permit your use, obtain written permission or use a different asset.

Files that count as part of the delivered product

Redistribution rights may be required for assets appearing in:

• the installable product ZIP;
• an “all files and documentation” package;
• a theme’s screenshot.png or screenshot.jpg;
• bundled documentation;
• editable Figma, Photoshop or other design files;
• example templates and starter projects;
• companion plugins;
• demo XML, JSON, WIE, DAT or database files;
• imported page-builder templates;
• images downloaded during demo import;
• customer-accessible template or media libraries;
• update packages;
• files delivered through an external service after purchase.

Do not place preview-only stock images inside documentation, sample data or a theme screenshot included in the ZIP unless the applicable licence also permits that distribution.

WordPress, GPL and open-source assets

WordPress is distributed under the GPLv2 or later. WordPress states that derivative works such as plugins and themes inherit the GPL. WPBay products must comply with these obligations where applicable. See the official WordPress licence information.

Open-source software may be used commercially and may generally be sold when its licence allows this. For example, the GPL expressly permits charging for copies, while requiring distributors to preserve the freedoms and source-code rights granted by that licence. See the GNU GPL published by the Open Source Initiative.

However, the right to redistribute an open-source project does not guarantee acceptance on WPBay.

You must not:

• present someone else’s work as entirely your own;
• remove copyright or attribution notices;
• conceal that your product is a fork;
• contradict the rights granted by an upstream licence;
• sell a nearly unchanged free project without meaningful original value;
• use a proprietary licence to override GPL or other open-source obligations.

When using open-source code:

• identify the project, source, version and licence;
• include required licence texts and notices;
• mark modifications when required;
• provide corresponding source code when the licence requires it;
• check compatibility between every applicable licence;
• explain the original value, integration or improvements you added;
• keep upstream security fixes and maintenance requirements in mind.

WPBay licensing, activation, updates and support services do not override rights already granted under an upstream open-source licence.

Where practical, require a separately maintained WordPress.org plugin as a dependency instead of bundling another complete plugin inside your product.

Can I sell a modified WordPress.org plugin or theme?

Potentially, but GPL permission is only one part of the review.

You must:

• comply fully with the original licence;
• preserve required copyright and attribution notices;
• identify the original project and your modifications;
• avoid misleading users about the original author or official status;
• use a distinct name and branding where appropriate;
• provide meaningful improvements or implementation value;
• be able to maintain and support your version.

A renamed or lightly modified copy of a freely available product will normally not provide sufficient value for a paid WPBay listing.

Creative Commons assets

Creative Commons licences are not interchangeable. Review the exact licence attached to the specific asset.

The current Creative Commons licence overview explains the principal licence types.

For CC BY material, appropriate credit normally includes the creator, the source, the licence and an indication of whether changes were made.

CC0 and public-domain status do not automatically resolve:

• trademark rights;
• privacy or personality rights;
• rights of publicity;
• model or property releases;
• rights in artwork or branding visible within an image;
• uncertainty about whether the uploader owned the material.

Creative Commons explains that public-domain status can vary between jurisdictions and that only a rights holder can validly apply CC0 to a work. See its public-domain and CC0 guidance.

Stock photographs, fonts, icons and template libraries

Many stock licences allow an asset to be used on one website or in one finished design but prohibit distributing the original or editable asset to customers.

This means a stock photograph may be permitted in your live demo but prohibited from being included in:

• demo-import data;
• a theme ZIP;
• a reusable page template;
• an editable design source;
• a customer media library.

The same issue applies to fonts, icon sets, UI kits, templates and page-builder libraries.

For fonts, confirm whether the licence covers:

• web embedding;
• local bundling;
• redistribution;
• modification or subsetting;
• inclusion in editable source files;
• the number of sites or customers involved.

Do not assume that every asset from a particular website uses the same licence. Check the licence on the individual asset and keep evidence of the terms that applied when you obtained it.

Can I include another WPBay product?

Purchasing another WPBay product does not automatically give you permission to bundle or resell it.

You may include all or part of another product only when:

• its licence expressly permits the intended redistribution;
• you have any additional written permission required from its rights holder;
• its licence is compatible with your product and all upstream licences;
• all required notices and source materials are included;
• it is incorporated into a genuinely original product rather than resold as-is;
• WPBay has approved any product bundle where approval is required.

A private message from the seller does not cure a licence incompatibility unless that seller owns all relevant rights and has authority to grant the permission.

Premium plugins and other paid dependencies

Do not bundle a premium plugin, theme, template kit or commercial library merely because you purchased a licence for it.

If your product requires a separately licensed dependency:

• identify it prominently on the product page;
• state whether it is required or optional;
• explain whether it is included;
• disclose its current separate cost where relevant;
• explain which functionality depends on it;
• direct customers to obtain their own valid licence;
• ensure your product fails safely when the dependency is unavailable.

You must not require an Envato, CodeCanyon or another marketplace purchase code to activate the WPBay version of your product.

Demo imports and starter content

One-click demo imports frequently create licensing problems because they transfer assets that were originally licensed only for display on the seller’s demo site.

If an importer copies an image, font, video, template or other asset onto a customer’s website, you need redistribution rights.

If you have rights to display an asset but not distribute it:

• do not include it in the import;
• replace it with an asset you may redistribute;
• use a clearly marked placeholder;
• tell customers which demo assets are omitted;
• explain how customers can provide their own replacements.

The product page must not imply that customers can reproduce the complete demo when important assets are not supplied or separately obtainable.

Hotlinking or downloading an asset from a third-party website is not a workaround for licensing restrictions.

Photographs of people and property

If an image, video, voice recording or other media contains an identifiable person, you may also need a model release or another valid permission for commercial use.

If you created the media yourself, copyright ownership alone may not be enough. You should obtain and retain appropriate releases where required.

You must also consider:

• privately owned property;
• artwork and sculptures;
• distinctive architecture;
• visible trademarks and product designs;
• privacy and personality rights;
• rights of publicity.

Do not use a celebrity’s or public figure’s name, image, voice or likeness for commercial promotion without the rights required for that use.

For related requirements, see Trademark and Real-World Product Rules.

AI-generated and AI-assisted assets

AI-generated and AI-assisted code, images and other material may be used subject to the WPBay AI-Generated and AI-Assisted Content Policy.

You remain responsible for:

• reviewing the output;
• complying with the AI provider’s terms;
• confirming that commercial use and distribution are permitted;
• avoiding protected third-party material;
• checking for copied code, branding, characters or distinctive designs;
• maintaining and supporting generated code;
• making any required disclosures.

“Generated by AI” is not proof that an asset is original, copyrightable or free from third-party rights.

Third-party notices

Every product should include a clear inventory of material third-party components.

Depending on the product, this may be a THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md, resources.md or equivalent file containing:

Include complete licence texts where required and preserve copyright headers, attribution and source notices.

A Composer, npm or similar dependency manifest is helpful, but it may not identify fonts, copied snippets, images, datasets, templates and other assets. Those must be documented separately.

Keep evidence of your rights

WPBay may request evidence that you are entitled to use or distribute an asset.

Keep copies of:

• invoices and purchase records;
• the exact licence and version that applied;
• the original asset page and source URL;
• written permissions;
• contributor agreements;
• copyright assignments;
• model and property releases;
• records identifying open-source versions and modifications;
• AI provider terms and relevant generation records.

A source URL alone is not proof that an asset was lawfully available or that the uploader owned it.

What is not allowed?

You must not use:

• stolen, pirated, cracked or “nulled” products;
• code or media copied from another seller without permission;
• assets described only as “free” without identifiable licence terms;
• personal-use or noncommercial assets in a WPBay product or its advertising;
• stock assets whose licence prohibits marketplace or template redistribution;
• watermarked assets as a substitute for a licence;
• scraped images, text, code or data where you lack the required rights;
• premium plugins or template kits you are not allowed to redistribute;
• copied logos, interfaces or distinctive designs that imply false affiliation;
• preview-only assets inside a download or demo import;
• third-party code with removed copyright or licence notices;
• an unchanged or minimally altered open-source project presented as original premium work.

WPBay may reject, suspend or remove a product if its ownership or licensing cannot be verified.

Pre-submission checklist

Before submitting your product, confirm that:

• you own or have licensed every included component;
• every delivered asset permits commercial redistribution;
• preview-only assets are excluded from downloads and imports;
• all omitted demo assets are disclosed;
• open-source obligations are satisfied;
• your product licence does not contradict third-party licences;
• required attribution, licence texts and source notices are included;
• premium dependencies and separate costs are disclosed;
• model, property, trademark and publicity rights have been considered;
• you have retained evidence of permissions and licences;
• the product offers meaningful original value.

For product-specific packaging and licensing rules, review:

• WPBay Technical Requirements for WordPress Plugins
• WPBay Technical Requirements for WordPress Themes
• WPBay Technical Requirements for Scripts
• Your Legal Responsibilities as a WPBay Seller

If you are uncertain whether a licence covers your intended use, obtain advice from a qualified intellectual-property professional or replace the asset before submitting your product. WPBay can explain its marketplace requirements but cannot provide individual legal advice.