The Bitter Trademark Battle Over WordPress

On September 20th, Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic, delivered the conference’s keynote at WordCamp US in Portland, Oregon. It’s an event that has happened dozens of times in the past, usually with minimal controversy or concern.

However, this year would be very different.

That’s because Mullenweg used the platform to fire the first major salvo at WP Engine, a popular hosting company specializing in WordPress sites. Mullenweg accused WP Engine, who had a booth at the event, of misusing the WordPress trademark and failing to give back to WordPress.

The comments were not received exceptionally well by the WordPress community. Most described the audience’s reaction as shock, saying the call-out did more harm than good and came across as petty.

However, the battle didn’t end there. Instead, Mullenweg has since doubled down. The two sides have exchanged legal threats and, for a brief period, Automattic blocked WP Engine servers from accessing their update repositories.

So, what is going on, and what does it mean for WordPress’s future? To understand, we first need some background.

Background Information

Disclosure: I have developed sites on WordPress for over 20 years, including this one. I am also a former co-host of the WordPress podcast and have spoken at several WordCamp events. However, I have no direct relationship with Automattic.

To be clear, WordPress is open-source software that anyone is free to use, copy, edit or manipulate within the terms of the GPL license.

Automattic is a company with Mullenweg as the CEO. It owns and operates both WordPress.org, the site for self-hosted WordPress, and WordPress.com, a hosting service based on WordPress. Automattic also offers other tools, such as Jetpack and WooCommerce.

Mullenweg also founded the WordPress Foundation, a non-profit organization that oversees trademarks related to WordPress, including marks such as WordPress, WordCamp and the WordPress logo. Currently, the organization exclusively licenses those marks to Automattic, which handles sublicenses.

Finally, since 2104, WordPress.org has also hosted the Five for the Future initiative. This initiative encourages companies that profit from WordPress to dedicate time to improving WordPress itself. The initiative currently has 193 pledges, including WP Engine, which pledges 40 hours per week.

With those elements understood, we can begin to parse the dispute itself.

The Dispute So Far

On September 17, Mullenweg posted a blog entry entitled “WordCamp US & Ecosystem Thinking.” Though not as harsh as his keynote days later, it called out WP Engine, saying the company contributes 1%-2% of what Automattic does to Five for the Future despite its similar size.

However, the battle formally kicked off with the keynote speech on the 20th. In that speech, he openly criticized WP Engine and asked users not to support it. He even offered to return the $75,000 WP Engine paid to be a Super Admin Sponsor of the event.

The next day, Mullwenweg posted an article on the WordPress.org blog entitled “WP Engine is not WordPress.” In addition to repeating the arguments about WP Engine misusing the trademark and not contributing enough to WordPress itself, he accused the company of turning off post revisions, a core feature of WordPress.

On the 23rd, WP Engine sent Automattic a cease-and-desist letter. The letter demanded that Automattic and Mullenweg stop making and retract “false, harmful and disparaging statements against WP Engine ” and accused Mullenweg of spreading misinformation about the company.

On the 25th, Automattic responded in kind. The company sent its own cease-and-desist letter, accusing WP Engine of misusing the WordPress trademark.

That same day, Mullenweg posted that Automattic had banned WP Engine from using WordPress.org. This prevented WP Engine users from updating plugins, themes or the WordPress core. Though Automattic granted a reprieve two days later, that reprieve only lasts until October 1st. They hope that WP Engine will have created mirrors of WordPress.org services by then.

That is where we are today. No lawsuits have been filed, but the battle seems far from over. But, as WP Engine and Automattic go to war, the average user is caught in the crossfire.

Who’s Wrong and Who’s Right

The dispute concerns two separate matters: the use of the WordPress trademark and whether WP Engine is doing enough to support WordPress as a whole.

The second point is not something I can discuss too deeply. I’m not an open-source developer. While it is true that WP Engine gives significantly less than Automattic through Five for the Future, it also supports the community in other ways. It manages several popular, free plugins, sponsors WordPress events, and encourages the adoption of WordPress.

Whether that is “enough” is a matter of debate. However, it’s pretty difficult to deny that WP Engine does give back at least some.

The trademark issue is something that I can speak to with more clarity.

Over the years, WP Engine has extensively used the various WordPress trademarks. Until recently, WP Engine called its plans “Essential WordPress,” “Core WordPress,” and “Enterprise WordPress.” It has also used the name WP Engine, which stands for “WordPress Engine.”

Automattic has also filed for new marks, including “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress.” However, those marks have not been granted yet.

Mullenweg convincingly argues that there has been some confusion in the marketplace. I also agree that WP Engine may have been a bit too loose with its use of the WordPress mark in the past. However, there are two problems with that.

First, before September 19th, the WordPress Foundation encouraged people to use the “WP” abbreviation “any way you see fit.” Now that the policy has been updated to reference WP Engine directly.

Second, WP Engine is far from the only service that misuses these marks. You have long-running websites like WPBeginner, GoDaddy naming its plans “Managed WordPress Basic,” and popular WordPress developers like WPMU Dev.

In short, developers are nervous and have every right to be.

The Big Problem

What’s clear from this is that Mullenweg, Automattic and the WordPress Foundation want to tighten their grip on their trademarks. Though Mullenweg insists that WP Engine is the only problem, his actions suggest otherwise.

That’s especially true for the new trademark registrations. Many companies use “WordPress Hosting” or “Managed WordPress” in their service descriptions, and it is unclear what will happen to them.

That said, I agree there is a legitimate trademark dispute between Automattic and WP Engine. Automattic has an obligation to defend its trademarks, and if it feels that WP Engine has crossed a line, it should respond.

However, this is not the way to do it.

Singling them out in a keynote and then turning off their access to updates is not the solution. It comes across as petty and unprofessional. It also harms regular WordPress users far more than it hurts WP Engine.

To make matters worse, this is a security risk. WP Engine sites will become less secure if they can’t get updates. Those sites will harm visitors and other internet users by becoming havens for malware and spam.

This makes the whole internet a much worse place, not just the WordPress community. Even if Automattic is 100% right about WP Engine, its actions make it another villain in the story.

Bottom Line

To be clear, my instinct is to side with Automattic. Not only have I used WordPress for over two decades, but I’ve been an avid supporter and fan of WordPress for just as long. I’ve remained a WordPress supporter through all the ups and downs (mostly downs lately).

However, WordPress didn’t become the dominant platform on the web just because it was better. It got there because it was stable. One of the key reasons WordPress beat MovableType in the mid-2000s was because MovableType drastically changed its licensing practices in 2004.

If developers are going to invest the time, energy and expertise to learn a platform, they have to believe there will be a long-term return on that investment. WordPress has largely offered that.

Though the controversial switch to Gutenberg in 2019 shook that stability somewhat, most weathered the storm.

This, however, paints an even worse picture. Developers see Automattic tightening its grip on its trademarks and targeting a large company at the whims of one person, Matt Mullenweg. Yes, the issues are real, but this approach comes across as petty and vindictive.

Those aren’t words that give developers confidence in a platform.

In the end, I agree with Joost de Valk, the creator of the popular Yoast SEO plugin. If Automattic is going to demand that companies like WP Engine pay tribute, then those who contribute deserve a voice in the future direction of WordPress.

Greater transparency is needed in WordPress’ development/outreach, and those who contribute deserve a voice in how their contribution is used.

It’s a simple idea whose time has come.