The Escalation: WP Engine Ban and Trademark Battles
The conflict escalated further when Mullenweg banned WP Engine from accessing the resources hosted on WordPress.org, the official WordPress website. While WordPress plugins, themes, and other elements are licensed under open-source terms, WP Engine and other hosting providers rely on the ability to fetch these resources to power the WordPress sites they host.
Mullenweg's decision to cut off WP Engine's access to WordPress.org resources effectively disrupted many websites, preventing them from updating plugins and themes, and leaving some vulnerable to security issues. The WordPress community reacted with dismay, criticizing Mullenweg's tactics as causing harm to innocent website owners and developers who depended on WP Engine's services.