Last updated: 13 August 2026
WPBay gives independent developers and businesses the opportunity to distribute software, digital products and professional services to customers worldwide.
Selling through a global marketplace also brings legal and contractual responsibilities. You are responsible for your products, their contents, your conduct and the information you provide to WPBay and customers.
These responsibilities apply throughout the product lifecycle, from development and submission through marketing, updates, support and eventual discontinuation.
This article provides a practical overview. It does not replace the WPBay Seller Agreement, Terms and Conditions or other applicable policies.
Follow applicable laws and WPBay policies
You must comply with the laws and regulations applicable to you, your business, your products and the countries where your products or services are made available.
You must also follow the Seller Agreement, Acceptable Use Policy, product requirements, licensing rules, security requirements and other WPBay policies incorporated into your marketplace relationship.
If you sell on behalf of a company or another legal entity, you confirm that you have authority to act for that entity and accept the applicable agreements on its behalf.
You must provide accurate and current identity, business, tax, payout and contact information. WPBay may request documentation to verify this information or satisfy legal, fraud-prevention, tax-reporting and payment requirements.
Ownership of your products
You must own your product or possess all rights needed to develop, modify, market, license and distribute it through WPBay.
This responsibility extends to every file included in or used to promote the product. It includes source code, compiled code, libraries, frameworks, documentation, images, icons, fonts, audio, videos, demo content, sample data, templates and other bundled materials.
If employees, contractors, agencies or collaborators contributed to the product, you should have written agreements establishing who owns their work and what rights have been transferred or licensed to you.
Paying someone to create code, graphics or other content does not always mean you automatically own the resulting intellectual property.
You retain ownership of your product when listing it on WPBay. Under the Seller Agreement, you grant WPBay the limited rights necessary to review, test, host, promote, distribute, license and deliver it through the marketplace.
For more information, read Copyright Basics for WPBay Sellers.
Copyright and third-party assets
Copyright protects original creative works, including software, documentation, images, videos, audio and other product assets.
Do not copy or include material created by someone else unless you have a valid legal basis and a licence permitting the intended use.
An asset being publicly available online does not mean it is free to use. Purchasing an asset does not necessarily allow you to redistribute it inside a downloadable product. Giving credit does not replace permission.
Before including third-party code or content, confirm that its licence permits commercial use, modification where relevant and redistribution as part of your specific product.
You should retain copies of purchase receipts, licences, permission emails, contributor agreements and other evidence showing your right to use and distribute each third-party component.
Open-source software is still protected by copyright. Licences such as the GPL, MIT, BSD and Apache licences grant specific permissions subject to their respective conditions.
If your product includes GPL-covered code or derives from WordPress, make sure your distribution model respects the applicable GPL requirements. Do not remove required notices or impose restrictions that conflict with an open-source licence.
Trademarks and product names
A trademark may protect a word, name, phrase, logo, symbol or other identifier used to distinguish the source of products or services.
You may use another company’s name where reasonably necessary to describe genuine compatibility or integration, provided the reference is accurate and does not suggest endorsement, ownership, affiliation or official status.
For example, a product description may explain that a plugin is compatible with a particular platform. This does not automatically permit you to incorporate that platform’s name or logo into your product name, company name, domain, icon or branding.
The WordPress Foundation owns the WordPress name and logo. Commercial products may refer factually to WordPress, but should not use “WordPress” as part of a product, service, business or domain name without permission. “WP” may generally be used as an alternative, subject to other existing trademark rights.
Review the WordPress Foundation Trademark Policy before naming or branding a WordPress-related product.
Other companies and projects, including WooCommerce, Elementor, Shopify, Google, Meta and payment or AI providers, may have separate trademark policies.
Do not use third-party logos merely to make a listing appear official. Where a logo is necessary to explain compatibility, confirm that the trademark owner’s guidelines permit that use.
Images, people and identifiable property
Product screenshots, demo websites, promotional videos and listing images must also comply with copyright, privacy, personality and publicity rights.
If an identifiable person appears in commercial imagery, you may need their permission or a valid model release. Certain privately owned buildings, interiors, artworks or other property may also require permission depending on the image, its use and applicable law.
A stock asset licence does not automatically include every necessary model, property or trademark permission.
Keep any required releases and supporting licence documentation. WPBay may request evidence when reviewing a complaint or determining whether an image can remain on the marketplace.
Product descriptions and marketing claims
Your product page must accurately describe what the product does, what is included, what is not included and any important limitations.
Do not make misleading claims about features, compatibility, performance, security, support, updates, legal compliance or expected business results.
Do not claim that a product is officially endorsed, certified or approved by WordPress, WPBay or another company unless you have express authorization.
Screenshots and demos should reasonably represent the product customers receive. Clearly identify third-party services, API subscriptions, paid dependencies, external accounts and additional purchases required for advertised functionality.
You are responsible for ensuring that testimonials, ratings, comparisons and performance claims are genuine and not misleading. Fake reviews, manipulated ratings and misleading competitor comparisons are prohibited.
Passing WPBay’s review does not authorize inaccurate claims or transfer responsibility for them to WPBay.
Privacy and data protection
If your product or service collects, stores, accesses, transmits or otherwise processes personal data, you are responsible for complying with applicable privacy and data-protection laws.
Depending on the product and users, this may include the General Data Protection Regulation, national privacy laws and rules governing cookies, tracking, marketing communications and international data transfers.
Clearly disclose what data is collected, why it is collected, where it is sent, how long it is retained and which third-party providers receive it.
Obtain consent where required and provide appropriate privacy controls. Do not collect data that is unnecessary for the product’s stated purpose.
If you use analytics, telemetry, remote APIs, licence verification, cloud processing or AI services, these connections must be clearly disclosed. Hidden tracking or undisclosed data transmission is not permitted.
You must protect credentials and personal data obtained while providing support or professional services. Do not retain customer access credentials longer than necessary.
Product security
Products submitted to WPBay must be reasonably secure and suitable for real customer use.
You must not include malware, spyware, hidden backdoors, deceptive remote controls, abusive kill switches or intentionally harmful behaviour.
Follow secure development practices appropriate to your product. Validate and sanitize input, escape output, enforce authorization, protect secrets and maintain third-party dependencies.
If you discover a security vulnerability affecting your product, investigate it promptly, prepare corrective or mitigating measures and notify WPBay without unreasonable delay.
WPBay may temporarily disable sales or update delivery, display warnings, request emergency remediation or remove an affected product where customer protection requires urgent action.
Developers making software available in the European Union should also review EU Cyber Resilience Act: Reporting Requirements for WPBay Sellers.
Updates, support and product maintenance
You are responsible for maintaining your product consistently with the commitments made on its listing page.
This does not require providing unlimited development forever, but supported products should receive reasonable compatibility, maintenance and security updates.
If you discontinue a product or materially reduce its support, clearly communicate the change to WPBay and affected customers. Existing contractual, security and consumer obligations may continue after sales stop.
If support is included, provide it professionally and within the advertised scope. Do not use artificial support blockers to pressure customers into purchasing unrelated services.
Repeatedly ignoring customers, abandoning insecure products or failing to provide promised support may result in product restriction or removal.
Professional services
If you sell setup, customization, development, maintenance or other services through WPBay, clearly define the scope, deliverables, exclusions, required customer access, delivery time and acceptance criteria.
Handle customer websites, credentials, files and personal data securely. Make only authorized changes and retain access only while reasonably necessary to complete the work.
Do not reuse confidential customer materials or source code in another project without permission.
Professional service Sellers should also follow the WPBay Technical Requirements for Services.
AI-generated code and content
You remain responsible for everything included in your product when using AI assistants, code generators, image generators or other automated systems.
AI output may contain security weaknesses, licence conflicts, inaccurate information, protected material or code resembling an existing project.
Review and test AI-generated material before distribution. Check the AI provider’s terms and determine whether the output can be used commercially and distributed under your product’s licence.
Do not claim exclusive ownership of material when applicable law or the provider’s terms do not support that claim.
If your product itself generates AI content, disclose relevant providers, data processing, required API accounts, expected costs and important output limitations.
Taxes and financial responsibilities
WPBay operates as the Merchant of Record for standard customer transactions. WPBay handles checkout, customer billing, applicable customer-facing VAT, invoices, refunds and payment administration where described in its policies.
You remain responsible for taxes, accounting, registrations, declarations and other financial obligations arising from the earnings you receive from WPBay.
Provide accurate tax and payout information when requested. WPBay may collect, verify, retain or report seller information where required under laws such as DAC7 or other tax-transparency rules.
WPBay does not provide personal tax, legal or accounting advice.
Sanctions, export controls and restricted activity
You must not use WPBay in violation of applicable sanctions, export controls, trade restrictions or laws prohibiting particular transactions, technologies or recipients.
Do not use false identities, intermediaries, VPNs or other methods to conceal prohibited activity or evade compliance checks.
WPBay may request additional information, restrict payouts or suspend marketplace access where reasonably necessary for sanctions screening, fraud prevention or legal compliance.
Your obligations to customers
Even though WPBay acts as Merchant of Record, the Seller remains responsible for product development, maintenance, technical accuracy, product-specific warranties, compatibility claims and advertised support unless WPBay explicitly states otherwise.
Cooperate with WPBay when resolving customer complaints, refunds, chargebacks, security events and product defects.
Do not contact customers outside approved platform channels to avoid fees, licensing systems, refunds or marketplace oversight.
Mandatory consumer rights cannot be excluded by a product description, licence or Seller policy.
What is WPBay’s role?
CODE IKIGAI SRL, operating as WPBay, provides and operates the marketplace and acts as Merchant of Record for standard transactions processed through it.
WPBay handles marketplace infrastructure, checkout, payment processing, customer billing, applicable VAT collection, invoices, licensing infrastructure, transaction administration and refunds under its policies.
WPBay does not take ownership of third-party Seller products.
Products are created and maintained by independent Sellers. The Seller remains responsible for the product, its code, included assets, legal compliance, security, documentation, support and marketing claims.
WPBay reviews submitted products for marketplace suitability, quality, security and compliance. This review cannot identify every legal, technical or licensing issue and does not constitute legal clearance, security certification or confirmation that the Seller owns every submitted component.
Approval of a product does not transfer the Seller’s responsibility to WPBay.
WPBay may investigate reported violations, request ownership or licence evidence, restrict products, suspend accounts and cooperate with rights holders or authorities where appropriate.
WPBay cannot provide legal advice or make a final judicial determination about disputed ownership. Courts and other competent authorities remain responsible for resolving legal disputes.
Intellectual property complaints
If WPBay receives a credible complaint that a product infringes copyright, trademarks or other rights, it may temporarily restrict or remove the product while the matter is reviewed.
The Seller may be asked to provide source history, licences, contracts, purchase records or other evidence demonstrating the right to distribute the disputed material.
Copyright claims should follow the WPBay DMCA Takedown Policy.
Do not submit false or abusive claims. Do not reupload removed material under another product or account while a dispute remains unresolved.
Repeated infringement, deliberate copying or fraudulent ownership claims may result in permanent removal from WPBay.
Protecting your intellectual property
You retain ownership of your product and may act if it is copied or distributed without authorization.
Keep dated source repositories, release archives, original design files, contributor agreements, invoices and licence records. These materials may help establish authorship and ownership.
If potentially infringing material appears on WPBay, preserve evidence and follow the WPBay DMCA Takedown Policy.
If your product appears without authorization on another website, you may contact the site operator, hosting provider, search engine, payment provider or other relevant intermediary using the procedures available in that jurisdiction.
WPBay cannot submit legal notices or pursue external infringement claims on a Seller’s behalf.
Additional resources
Read Copyright Basics for WPBay Sellers for an introduction to copyright, third-party assets, open-source licensing and common misconceptions.
Read the WPBay DMCA Takedown Policy for copyright notices and counter-notices.
The WPBay Acceptable Use Policy explains prohibited content and marketplace conduct.
The WPBay Seller Agreement contains the contractual responsibilities applicable to Sellers.
EU Sellers should also review the Additional Terms for EU Sellers and the EU Cyber Resilience Act reporting guide.
General information about intellectual property is available from the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Important notice
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal, tax or accounting advice.
Laws differ between countries and may change over time. Sellers should obtain independent professional advice where they are uncertain about ownership, licensing, privacy, tax, consumer protection, cybersecurity or other legal obligations.