Concern Regarding Hyvä Theme Licensing and Magento 2 Open-Source Core Code Reuse

There are growing concerns within the Magento community about how the Hyvä theme integrates and distributes portions of Magento core code within a commercially licensed product. Specifically, some developers have pointed out that Hyvä appears to include direct copy-past or derivatives of Magento open-source code (which are licensed under OSL 3.0) as part of its paid distribution.

Adobe OSL 3.0 License

This raises critical questions around:

1. License Compatibility

Magento Open Source is released under the Open Software License (OSL 3.0), which is a strong copyleft license. According to its terms:

• Any derivative work or redistribution must also be under the OSL.
• Incorporating OSL-licensed code into a proprietary/commercial package without releasing the entire package under the same license may violate the OSL.

If Hyvä includes Magento-derived code (templates, layouts, helpers, etc.) and distributes it under a commercial license, this could potentially conflict with OSL 3.0’s terms.

2. Obligations for Derivative Works

Under OSL 3.0:

• Modifications or derivative works of the original code must be released under OSL.
• Including Magento code in a closed-source product (without dual licensing or clear separation) may legally require Hyvä to release its source under OSL as well.

3. Impact on Security and Transparency

Beyond licensing, the reuse of Magento code outside of its original context — without community oversight or full transparency — can:

• Introduce technical debt and security blind spots.
• Fragment the ecosystem, especially when performance optimizations bypass Magento’s own updates and improvements.

Suggested Actions:

We reached out to both Adobe and Hyvä for clarification, but no explanation was provided. Therefore, a suggested path forward could be as follows:

• Clarification from Hyvä: The company should publicly document how Magento code is used and how they ensure OSL compliance.
• Review by Legal Experts: Merchants and agencies adopting Hyvä should seek legal counsel if they are unsure whether their use of the theme exposes them to license risks.
• Community Dialogue: The broader Magento community (including Adobe) should weigh in to clarify what constitutes fair use or a derivative work in the Magento ecosystem.
• From Adobe: Initiate a formal review and dialogue with both the Hyvä maintainers and the broader community to clarify:
• What constitutes acceptable reuse or modification and if copy-past of the code is allowe
• Whether enforcement of OSL is being actively monitored or delegated.