The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained
This story has been updated throughout with more details as the story has developed. We will continue to do so as the case and dispute are ongoing.
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This story has been updated throughout with more details as the story has developed. We will continue to do so as the case and dispute are ongoing.
Won't this fight affect businesses that use WordPress 🤔
I think we have more of a copyright issue but there might be more to it. I am not sure of the total ramifications.
I hope everything gets resolved before things get out of hand
WordPress Community Embroiled in Heated Dispute Over Trademarks, Licensing, and power
The world of WordPress, one of the most widely used website building and hosting platforms, is currently engulfed in a high-stakes and contentious dispute between its key stakeholders. At the center of the controversy are WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, and the hosting provider WP Engine, which powers many WordPress websites.
The conflict, which has been brewing for months, has nOW erupted into a full-blown legal battle, with accusations of trademark misuse, power abuse, and harm to the broader WordPress community. The fallout has even led to a significant exodus of employees from Mullenweg's company, Automattic, further destabilizing the situation.
The Core Issue: Trademarks, Licensing, and Access to WordPress
The root of the conflict lies in the complex web of trademarks, licensing agreements, and control over WordPress resources that have been points of contention for years. WordPress, as an open-source project, is maintained by a foundation, but its trademarks and branding are tightly controlled by Automattic, Mullenweg's company.
In mid-September, Mullenweg sparked the latest flare-up by publishing a blog post that harshly criticized WP Engine, calling the hosting provider a "cancer to WordPress." Mullenweg's main gripes were that WP Engine had disabled the ability for users to view and track the revision history of their WordPress posts, a feature he considered central to the platform's promise of data protection. He also accused WP Engine of not contributing enough to the open-source WordPress project, and criticized the company's use of the "WP" abbreviation, which Mullenweg claimed was confusing customers into thinking WP Engine was officially affiliated with WordPress.
In response, WP Engine fired back with a cease-and-desist letter, arguing that its use of the WordPress trademark was covered under fair use. The company also alleged that Mullenweg had threatened to take a "scorched Earth nuclear approach" against WP Engine unless it agreed to pay a significant portion of its revenue for a WordPress trademark license.
Automattic, in turn, sent its own cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, claiming the hosting provider had breached the trademark usage rules for WordPress and the WooCommerce e-commerce platform. The WordPress Foundation, which owns the WordPress trademark, also updated its policies to specifically call out WP Engine, stating that the "WP" abbreviation was not covered by its trademarks and that the hosting service had confused users by implying an affiliation with WordPress that did not exist.
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.
WP Engine pushed back, stating in a post that Mullenweg had "misused his control of WordPress to interfere with WP Engine customers' access to WordPress.org." The company argued that Mullenweg's actions "interfere with the normal operation of the entire WordPress ecosystem, impacting not just WP Engine and our customers, but aLL WordPress plugin developers and open source users who depend on WP Engine tools."
After temporary relief, WordPress.org lifted the ban on WP Engine's access on September 27, the company was given until October 1 to resolve the issues. In a blog post, Mullenweg clarified that the dispute was specifically about trademarks, stating that Automattic had been trying to negotiate a licensing deal with WP Engine for some time, but the hosting provider had been "stringing us along."
On September 30, the day before the WordPress.org deadline, WP Engine updated its website footer to explicitly state that it was not affiliated with or endorsed by the WordPress Foundation or WooCommerce. The company also changed the names of its hosting plans, removing the "WordPress" branding.
WP Engine argued that these changes mooted Automattic's concerns, claiming that it, "like the rest of the WordPress community, use[s] the WordPress mark to describe our business" and that "Automattic's suggestion that WPE needs a license to do that is simply wrong, and reflects a misunderstanding of trademark law."
The WordPress Foundation, however, had already filed to trademark "Managed WordPress" and "Hosted WordPress" in July, a move that further alarmed the broader WordPress community. Developers and other service providers worried that if these trademarks were granted, they could be used against them, limiting their ability to describe their WordPress-related offerings.
Community Backlash and Exodus from Automattic
The controversy surrounding the Mullenweg-WP Engine dispute has resonated strongly within the WordPress community, with many voicing concerns about the centralization of power and the potential threats to the open-source nature of the platform.
John O'Nolan, the founder of the open-source content management system Ghost, criticized the concentration of control over WordPress, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that "The web needs more independent organizations, and it needs more diversity. 40% of the web and 80% of the CMS market should not be controlled by any one individual."
Similar sentiments were echoed by David Heinemeier Hansson, the Creator of the Ruby on Rails web application framework, who opined in a blog post that Automattic was "completely out of line" in asking WP Engine to pay 8% of its revenues for a WordPress trademark license, arguing that this violated the principles of open-source software.
The backlash within the WordPress community even led to a significant exodus from Automattic itself. On October 3, 159 Automattic employees who disagreed with Mullenweg's direction for the company and the WordPress project as a whole opted to take severance packages and leave the organization. Approximately 80% of those who departed worked in Automattic's ecosystem / WordPress division.
The fallout continued, with Automattic appointing a new executive director for the WordPress.org community on October 8, replacing Josepha Haden Chomphosy, who was one of the employees that had left the company. A day earlier, one of WP Engine's engineers had announced that they were joining Automattic, further adding to the sense of upheaval.
Mullenweg attempted to rally his remaining Automattic workforce, offering every employee 200 shares of a special class of stock (A12 shares) as a token of gratitude on October 12. However, on October 17, he posted another "alignment offer" on Automattic's Slack, this time with a nine-month severance package, but with the caveat that anyone accepting it would lose access to the WordPress.org community. This move was met with further criticism from the WordPress community.
The Legal Battles Escalate
As the conflict between Mullenweg, Automattic, and WP Engine unfolded, the situation evolved into a full-blown legal battle. On October 3, WP Engine sued Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging abuse of power and claiming the defendants had not upheld their promises to run the open-source WordPress project without constraints and to give developers the freedom to build, run, modify, and redistribute the software.
WP Engine's lawsuit also referenced alleged text messages from Mullenweg about potentially hiring WP Engine's CEO, Heather Brunner, to serve as the executive director of WordPress.org. Mullenweg later commented on Hacker News that Brunner had expressed interest in the role.
Automattic dismissed WP Engine's lawsuit as "meritless," with the company's legal representative, Neal Katyal, stating, "I stayed up last night reading WP Engine's Complaint, trying to find any merit anywhere to it. The whole thing is meritless, and we look forward to the federal court's consideration of their lawsuit."
On October 18, WP Engine filed an injunction in a California court, asking the judge to restore its access to WordPress.org. A day later, the company filed a motion requesting the court to expedite the hearing on its preliminary injunction.
In response, Mullenweg and Automattic opposed the expedited hearing, arguing that the case was not about WP Engine's access to the WordPress software itself, as the company could still access the codebase on GitHub. Rather, they contended that the dispute was centered on WordPress.org, a website that Mullenweg claimed was his personal responsibility and not controlled by Automattic or the WordPress Foundation.
On October 23, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin scheduled the first hearing for the primary injunction to take place on November 26, unless there was further opposition. On October 30, Mullenweg and Automattic filed a motion to dismiss key accusations made by WP Engine, arguing that the hosting provider was responsible for harming itself.
In response, WP Engine filed a document citing Mullenweg's comments at the TechCrunch Disrupt event, where he had discussed the significant loss of business suffered by WP Engine due to the WordPress.org ban.
The ongoing legal battles and the broader implications for the WordPress community have left many stakeholders deeply concerned about the future of the platform and the principles of open-source software development.
Implications and Concerns for the WordPress Community
The WordPress community, which includes millions of website owners, developers, and other service providers, has expressed deep concerns about the ramifications of the Mullenweg-WP Engine dispute. Many fear that the centralization of power and the aggressive tactics employed by Automattic and Mullenweg could set a dangerous precedent that threatens the very foundations of the open-source ecosystem.
The WordPress Foundation's move to trademark "Managed WordPress" and "Hosted WordPress" has further stoked fears among developers and service providers that they could be restricted in their ability to describe their WordPress-related offerings. This has led to widespread calls for greater transparency and clear guidelines from Automattic and the WordPress Foundation on the appropriate use of the WordPress brand and intellectual property.
Moreover, the community has been shaken by Mullenweg's decision to ban WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org resources, which disrupted the operations of countless websites and left some vulnerable to security issues. The perception that Mullenweg was willing to sacrifice the broader community to pursue his dispute with WP Engine has deeply eroded trust in his leadership.
The exodus of 159 Automattic employees, predominantly from the WordPress division, has further unsettled the community, raising questions about the long-term stability and direction of the platform. The departure of such a significant portion of the workforce responsible for maintaining and developing the WordPress ecosystem has fueled concerns about the project's future.
Beyond the immediate WordPress community, the controversy has also drawn the attention of other prominent figures in the tech industry. David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails, has been outspoken in his criticism of Automattic's actions, stating that the company's demands for trademark licensing fees from WP Engine violate the principles of open-source software.
The broader implications of this dispute extend far beyond the WordPress ecosystem, as it raises fundamental questions about the role of corporate control and power in the open-source software landscape. Many in the community fear that if left unchecked, the actions of Mullenweg and Automattic could set a precedent that undermines the collaborative, decentralized nature of open-source development, with potentially far-reaching consequences for the entire tech industry.
As the legal battles continue and the fallout from the controversy continues to unfold, the WordPress community finds itself at a crossroads, grappling with the delicate balance between commercial interests, community values, and the ideals of open-source software. The outcome of this dispute will have a lasting impact on the future of WordPress, as well as the broader open-source ecosystem that it has come to represent.