The world of WordPress, one of the vital fashionable applied sciences for creating and internet hosting web sites, goes by a really heated controversy. The core situation is the combat between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, which hosts web sites constructed on WordPress.
WordPress expertise is open supply and free, and it powers an enormous chunk of the web — round 40% of internet sites. Web sites can host their very own WordPress occasion or use an answer supplier like Automattic or WP Engine for a plug-and-play answer.
In mid-September, Mullenweg wrote a weblog publish calling WP Engine a “most cancers to WordPress.” He criticized the host for disabling the flexibility for customers to see and monitor the revision historical past for each publish. Mullenweg believes this characteristic is on the “core of the consumer promise of defending your information” and mentioned that WP Engine turns it off by default to save cash.
He additionally referred to as out WP Engine investor Silver Lake and mentioned they don’t contribute sufficiently to the open supply undertaking and that WP Engine’s use of the “WP” model has confused clients into believing it’s a part of WordPress.
The authorized battle
In reply, WP Engine despatched a cease-and-desist letter to Mullenweg and Automattic to withdraw their feedback. It additionally mentioned that its use of the WordPress trademark was lined beneath honest use.
In response, Automattic despatched its personal cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, saying that they’d breached WordPress and WooCommerce trademark utilization guidelines.
The WordPress Basis additionally modified its Trademark Coverage web page and referred to as out WP Engine, alleging the internet hosting service has confused customers.
“The abbreviation ‘WP’ is just not lined by the WordPress emblems, however please don’t use it in a approach that confuses folks. For instance, many individuals assume WP Engine is ‘WordPress Engine’ and formally related to WordPress, which it’s not. They’ve by no means as soon as even donated to the WordPress Basis, regardless of making billions of income on high of WordPress,” the up to date web page reads.
WP Engine ban, group influence, and trademark battle
Mullenweg then banned WP Engine from accessing the sources of WordPress.org. Whereas parts like plug-ins and themes are beneath open supply license, suppliers like WP Engine should run a service to fetch them, which isn’t lined beneath the open supply license.
This broke a whole lot of web sites and prevented them from updating plug-ins and themes. It additionally left a few of them open to safety assaults. The group was not happy with this method of leaving small web sites helpless.
In response to the incident, WP Engine mentioned in a publish that Mullenweg had misused his management of WordPress to intrude with WP Engine clients’ entry to WordPress.org.
“Matt Mullenweg’s unprecedented and unwarranted motion interferes with the traditional operation of your entire WordPress ecosystem, impacting not simply WP Engine and our clients, however all WordPress plugin builders and open supply customers who rely on WP Engine instruments like ACF,” WP Engine mentioned.
On September 27, WordPress.org lifted the ban quickly and allowed WP Engine to entry sources on October 1.
Mullenweg wrote a weblog publish clarifying that the combat is simply towards WP Engine over emblems. He mentioned Automattic has been attempting to dealer a trademark licensing deal for a very long time, however WP Engine’s solely response has been to “string us alongside.”
The WordPress group and different initiatives really feel this might additionally occur to them and need clarification from Automattic, which has an unique license to the WordPress trademark. The group can also be asking about clear steering round how they’ll and might’t use “WordPress.”
The WordPress Basis, which owns the trademark, has additionally filed to trademark “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress.” Builders and suppliers are apprehensive that if these emblems are granted, they could possibly be used towards them.
Builders have expressed considerations over counting on business open supply merchandise associated to WordPress, particularly when their entry can go away shortly.
Open-source content material administration system Ghost’s founder John O’Nolan additionally weighed in on the problem and criticized management WordPress being with one particular person.
“The online wants extra impartial organizations, and it wants extra range. 40% of the net and 80% of the CMS market shouldn’t be managed by anyone particular person,” he mentioned in an X publish.