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 challenge is the battle between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, which hosts web sites constructed on WordPress.
WordPress know-how 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 submit calling WP Engine a “most cancers to WordPress.” He criticized the host for disabling the flexibility for customers to see and observe the revision historical past for each submit. Mullenweg believes this characteristic is on the “core of the consumer promise of defending your knowledge” and mentioned that WP Engine turns it off by default to economize.
He additionally known as out WP Engine investor Silver Lake and mentioned they don’t contribute sufficiently to the open supply mission and that WP Engine’s use of the “WP” model has confused prospects 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 coated underneath honest use.
In response, Automattic despatched its personal cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, saying that that they had breached WordPress and WooCommerce trademark utilization guidelines.
The WordPress Basis additionally modified its Trademark Coverage web page and known as out WP Engine, alleging the internet hosting service has confused customers.
“The abbreviation ‘WP’ just isn’t coated by the WordPress logos, however please don’t use it in a manner that confuses individuals. For instance, many individuals suppose 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 prime 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 underneath open supply license, suppliers like WP Engine must run a service to fetch them, which isn’t coated underneath the open supply license.
This broke numerous 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 strategy of leaving small web sites helpless.
In response to the incident, WP Engine mentioned in a submit that Mullenweg had misused his management of WordPress to intrude with WP Engine prospects’ entry to WordPress.org.
“Matt Mullenweg’s unprecedented and unwarranted motion interferes with the conventional operation of your entire WordPress ecosystem, impacting not simply WP Engine and our prospects, however all WordPress plugin builders and open supply customers who rely upon WP Engine instruments like ACF,” WP Engine mentioned.
Mullenweg wrote a weblog submit clarifying that the battle is just in opposition to WP Engine over logos. 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 steerage 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 logos are granted, they may very well be used in opposition to them.
Builders have expressed considerations over counting on industrial open supply merchandise associated to WordPress, particularly when their entry can go away shortly.