The WordPress furor intensified on Wednesday when WordPress.org, the open source web hosting software, banned hosting provider WP Engine from accessing its resources.
In a post on WordPress.org, WordPress co-creator and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg wrote that WP Engine will not be able to access the platform’s resources, such as themes and plugins, while the legal claims are pending.
“WP Engine wants to control the WordPress experience, so they need to run their own user login system, update server, plugin directory, theme directory, pattern directory, block directory, translations, photo directory, job board, meetups, conferences, bug tracker, forums, Slack, Ping-o-matic and Showcase. Their servers no longer have free access to our servers,” he said.
“WP Engine is free to offer its customers a hacked and modified knock-off of WordPress’ GPL code, so that their customers can experience WordPress the way WP Engine envisions it, and WP Engine can keep all the profits and provide all the services,” Mullenweg wrote.
As a result of this blockage, sites using WP Engine’s solutions were no longer able to install plugins or update themes.
I can’t @WordPress For updates Photo mat/Translator The fight is infuriating.
For a small nonprofit, getting caught up in this situation could be costly if we have to migrate our site to a new host; that money and time would be better spent on our mission.
— Michael Geheren (@mgeheren) September 25, 2024
As several WordPress developers and advocates have pointed out, the ban means WP Engine customers will no longer have access to security updates, leaving them vulnerable.
WP Engine said it is aware of the issue and is working on a fix.
“WordPress.org has blocked WP Engine customers from updating and installing plugins and themes via WP Admin. There is currently no impact to the performance, reliability or security of your site, nor to your ability to update code or content,” reads the latest update from WP Engine.
WP Engine vs Automattic
The point is, around 40% of websites on the internet are powered by WordPress through a variety of hosting providers, including Mullenweg’s Automattic and WP Engine. While users can adopt the open source project and run their websites themselves, many opt for plug-and-play solutions.
Because WP Engine is built on the open-source WordPress project, the ban means that the hosting provider will not have access to updates to the WordPress project until the ban is lifted.
The dispute began last week when Mullenweg publicly criticized WP Engine for profiteering, calling the company a “cancer on WordPress,” at a conference and on his blog. He also claimed that WP Engine does not contribute as much to the WordPress community as Automattic, despite the two companies bringing in roughly $500 million in annual revenue.
This prompted WP Engine to send Mullenweg and Automattic a cease and desist letter, demanding that they retract their comments, and allegedly threatening to implement a “scorched earth” policy if WP Engine did not comply and pay Automattic a percentage of its gross revenues.
In response, Automattic sent WP Engine its own cease and desist letter, alleging that it was infringing on its WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks.
Meanwhile, the WordPress Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Mullenweg to maintain WordPress as an open source project, told TechCrunch that WP Engine is infringing on its trademark.
“WP Engine has indeed violated the WordPress Trademark Policy, which states that you are not permitted to use the WordPress trademarks as part of a product, project, service, domain name, or company name. WP Engine has repeatedly violated this policy, and the cease and desist letter sent by Automattic lists several examples of numerous violations,” the foundation said in an email.
The policy was updated yesterday to include the example of WP Engine. It’s worth noting that the trademark policy does not cover “WP” as a trademark.
Contact this reporter at im@ivanmehta.com or Signal: @ivan.42
