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WordPress is an open source content management system (CMS), used by millions of websites worldwide, that allows users to easily create and manage websites. WP Engine is a hosting company that provides specific solutions for WordPress sites, offering services ranging from managed hosting to security and performance optimization.
Recently, there was a conflict between WP Engine and WordPress.org, which resulted in significant consequences for WP Engine users. WP Engine attempted to block a core WordPress feature for profit, which broke thousands of customer sites. In response to these actions, WordPress.org revoked WP Engine’s free access to its resources, forcing the hosting provider to independently manage a wide range of services and infrastructure.
Automattic, the company behind a suite of products that include WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, and more, has filed serious allegations against WP Engine, another WordPress-specific hosting giant. According to Automattic, WP Engine has built a financial empire, valued at over $400 million in annual revenue, by inappropriately using Automattic's trademarks, including the well-known WordPress and WooCommerce. This, according to Automattic, constitutes not only trademark abuse but also a dilution of the symbolic and commercial value of these trademarks.
Automattic, via Matt Mullenwegh, claims that WP Engine has exploited the reputation and trustworthiness of the WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks to attract customers and generate significant profits, without due recognition or adequate compensation to the WordPress Foundation, which owns the commercial rights. Automattic noted that this behavior has led to significant confusion in the marketplace, with consumers potentially mistakenly assuming that there is an official partnership or endorsement between WP Engine and the WordPress or WooCommerce platforms.
Additionally, Automattic’s cease and desist letter to WP Engine describes how the unauthorized use of the trademarks has not only negatively impacted the perception of Automattic’s brands but has also eroded the goodwill that Automattic has built around these trademarks over the years. Goodwill, defined as the good name and commercial value that accrues from a brand’s reputation, is crucial to companies in the digital and technology economy, where customer trust and loyalty are paramount.
Automattic has since threatened to take legal action, demanding compensation for the profits that WP Engine has made by misusing its trademarks. This claim covers not only direct profits but also indirect damages caused by trademark dilution and erosion of goodwill. The claim underscores the importance that Automattic places on protecting its intellectual property and complying with legal principles that govern the use of trademarks.
You can read the official press release at this link.
Translation of the Press Release
Any WP Engine customer experiencing issues with their sites should contact WP Engine Support and ask them to resolve the issue.
I won’t bore you with the story of how WP Engine compromised thousands of customer sites yesterday in their haphazard attempt to block our efforts to inform the broader WordPress community about their disabling and blocking a core WordPress feature for profit.
What I will tell you, pending their legal claims and lawsuits against WordPress.org, is that WP Engine no longer has free access to WordPress.org resources.
WP Engine wants to control your WordPress experience; they need to manage their own user login system, update servers, plugin directories, theme directories, pattern directories, block directories, translations, photo directory, job board, meetups, conferences, bug tracker, forums, Slack, Ping-o-matic, and storefront. Their servers can no longer access our servers for free.
The reason WordPress sites aren’t getting hacked like they used to is that we work with hosts to block vulnerabilities at the network level; WP Engine will have to replicate this security research on their own.
Why would WordPress.org provide these services for free to WP Engine, given their aggression towards us?
WP Engine is free to offer its customers their altered and bastardized versions of the WordPress GPL code, and they can experience WordPress as WP Engine envisions it, with them getting all the profits and providing all the services.
If you want the WordPress experience, use any other host in the world except WP Engine. WP Engine is not WordPress.
WP Engine's Defense
In the midst of its legal dispute with Automattic, WP Engine has built its defense around two main pillars: compliance with fair use laws and criticism of Automattic’s alleged misunderstanding of trademark law. The hosting company has firmly denied the accusations, describing the financial demands made by Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg as not only excessive but also an attempt at extortion.
WP Engine argued that its use of the terms “WordPress” and “WooCommerce” in its marketing and communications operations fell within the fair use rules., a U.S. copyright doctrine that allows limited use of protected material without permission from the rights holders. According to WP Engine, such use is necessary to accurately describe the services it offers, as they are closely related to the WordPress platform. This view seeks to establish that there has been no trademark infringement because WP Engine's use has neither deceived consumers nor diluted the value of the trademark.
WP Engine also highlighted what they perceived as Automattic’s misunderstanding or distortion of trademark policies and laws. They argued that Automattic’s demands for financial compensation, described as a significant percentage of WP Engine’s gross revenue, were unreasonable and disproportionate, labeling them extortionate. These demands were interpreted by WP Engine not only as a financial assault but also as a threat to their autonomy and ability to operate freely in the marketplace.
Considerations
The situation between WP Engine and WordPress.org raises important questions about the governance of open source services and the responsibilities of hosting providers to the developer community and end users. Access to shared resources and the integrity of an open source project like WordPress are essential to maintaining a fair and functional digital ecosystem. This conflict highlights the delicate line between monetizing platforms and maintaining free and open access to the essential resources that support those platforms. WP Engine's decision to self-manage crucial services could lead to a fragmentation of the service offered and potentially a decrease in overall security, since independent replication of security research by individual hosts may not live up to global standards maintained through community collaboration.
