More and more information is coming to light. WP Engine has been asked to pay what seems to be a staggering 8% of their revenue for using the WordPress trademarks. This raises a host of questions, starting with: Why them? WP Engine is a major player in the managed WordPress hosting space, but they’re not the only company heavily reliant on the WordPress ecosystem. Are they being singled out, or could this be the first domino in a much larger shift? If WP Engine is required to pay, will other hosting companies—many of which also capitalize on WordPress—face similar demands? What about plugin and theme developers who have built entire businesses on top of WordPress?
Stay tuned for our live coverage — day by day, we will update this post with the latest information on the situation. Keep up with what could be one of the most significant turning points in the history of the WordPress ecosystem.
Monday, September 30, 2024
- WP Engine has added a disclaimer in the footer stating that it is in no way affiliated with WordPress or WooCommerce.
- Full interview with Matt Mullenweg below.
- Reddit users discussing the topic are strongly emphasizing that they no longer feel secure building their business around the WordPress CMS.
- A powerful statement regarding the blocking of over a million regular users’ websites hosted on WP Engine.
- [NOTE FROM US] webhosting.today has been hosted on WP Engine and has used WordPress since its inception.
Long-time leaders of the WordPress community are being banned from the Slack community.
Saturday, September 28, 2024
- WP Engine servers have been temporarily unblocked (until 01.10.2024). Access to wordpress.org repositories is currently available.
Friday, September 27, 2024
- Matt Mullenweg gave a video interview in the form of a Q&A from the community.
- Users repeatedly raised the issue of confusion about where the line is drawn—when a company should pay for the trademark or contribute to the project’s development.
Thursday, September 26, 2024
- A user on X.com explains why the Stripe issue is significant.
- More and more interesting leaks are being published on X.com.
- Pressable.com, a hosting brand of Automattic, is offering to cover the costs of contract termination for WP Engine clients.
- Some Reddit users report that the real source of the problem is WP Engine bypassing the official WooCommerce integration with Stripe. It seems this has just been confirmed by the CEO of Automattic.
- Some hosting companies are starting to take advantage of WP Engine’s difficult situation by creating dedicated offers for their customers.
- An interesting perspective on the current situation.
- Matt Mullenweg writes on X that he will unblock WP Engine users after the licensing fee is paid (a reminder: $32 million).
- FlyWheel (WP ENGINE BRAND) is also banned
- WP Engine accuses Mullenweg of business interference
- In a statement on X, source, WP Engine accused Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, of misusing his control over WordPress to restrict WP Engine customers’ access to WordPress.org. This accusation marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict, as WP Engine claims these actions interfere with their customer base and competitive standing within the WordPress ecosystem. The company reiterated their commitment to supporting open-source contributions despite these challenges.
- WP Engine’s Legal Action Expands
- WP Engine has expanded its legal efforts against Automattic, contesting their ban from WordPress.org resources and accusing Automattic of monopolistic practices. WP Engine is developing alternative solutions to minimize disruption for its customers, as the ban affects key resources such as plugin updates.
More on WP Tavern
- WP Engine has expanded its legal efforts against Automattic, contesting their ban from WordPress.org resources and accusing Automattic of monopolistic practices. WP Engine is developing alternative solutions to minimize disruption for its customers, as the ban affects key resources such as plugin updates.
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
- WP Engine banned from WordPress.org
- WordPress.org officially banned WP Engine from accessing resources like the plugin and theme directories. This move follows legal disputes and cease-and-desist letters exchanged between WP Engine and Automattic. WP Engine customers are reportedly facing challenges in updating and managing their WordPress sites.
WP Engine status update
- WordPress.org officially banned WP Engine from accessing resources like the plugin and theme directories. This move follows legal disputes and cease-and-desist letters exchanged between WP Engine and Automattic. WP Engine customers are reportedly facing challenges in updating and managing their WordPress sites.
- Automattic Issues Cease-and-Desist to WP Engine
- Automattic issued a cease-and-desist to WP Engine, accusing them of unauthorized use of the WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks. Automattic demands WP Engine to stop misleading customers and to obtain a proper trademark license.
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
- Mullenweg criticizes WP Engine in blog post
- Matt Mullenweg published a blog post accusing WP Engine of offering a “butchered” version of WordPress by disabling key features like post revisions. He argued that WP Engine’s practices are damaging to WordPress’s open-source principles.
Full blog post by Matt Mullenweg
- Matt Mullenweg published a blog post accusing WP Engine of offering a “butchered” version of WordPress by disabling key features like post revisions. He argued that WP Engine’s practices are damaging to WordPress’s open-source principles.
- WP Engine facing alleged financial pressure
- As summarized by webhosting.today in “Is WP Engine the First Company to Pay Extortion to WordPress?”, rumors have surfaced about WP Engine potentially being forced into making payments to avoid conflicts with the WordPress Foundation.
Monday, September 23, 2024
- Community divides on Social Media
- Discussions on Reddit and X.com show a divided community, with some developers defending WP Engine’s business practices while others agree with Mullenweg’s critique, arguing that WP Engine undermines the spirit of open-source software.
Reddit discussion thread
- Discussions on Reddit and X.com show a divided community, with some developers defending WP Engine’s business practices while others agree with Mullenweg’s critique, arguing that WP Engine undermines the spirit of open-source software.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
- WP Engine Issues Cease-and-Desist
- WP Engine responded to Mullenweg’s statements with a cease-and-desist letter, demanding a retraction and accusing Mullenweg of damaging their reputation. WP Engine’s legal team claims that his comments were unjustified and harmful to their business.
- WP Engine responded to Mullenweg’s statements with a cease-and-desist letter, demanding a retraction and accusing Mullenweg of damaging their reputation. WP Engine’s legal team claims that his comments were unjustified and harmful to their business.
Saturday, September 21, 2024
- Mullenweg’s Blog Post – “WP Engine is Not WordPress”
- In a blog post titled “WP Engine is Not WordPress,” Matt Mullenweg criticizes the hosting provider for disabling post revisions, which he argues compromises the integrity of WordPress. Mullenweg accuses WP Engine of profiting from WordPress without giving back to the community.
Read the blog post
- In a blog post titled “WP Engine is Not WordPress,” Matt Mullenweg criticizes the hosting provider for disabling post revisions, which he argues compromises the integrity of WordPress. Mullenweg accuses WP Engine of profiting from WordPress without giving back to the community.
Friday, September 20, 2024
- Mullenweg Criticizes WP Engine at WordCamp US
- During his keynote at WordCamp US, Matt Mullenweg publicly criticized WP Engine, calling it a “cancer” to the WordPress ecosystem. He accused the company of profiting from WordPress while offering a limited version of the platform by disabling critical features.
Watch the keynote on YouTube
- During his keynote at WordCamp US, Matt Mullenweg publicly criticized WP Engine, calling it a “cancer” to the WordPress ecosystem. He accused the company of profiting from WordPress while offering a limited version of the platform by disabling critical features.
