Header Text - The latest update in the ongoing WordPress vs WP Engine legal battle.

The ongoing battle between WordPress vs WP Engine has reached the next stage, with a recent court ruling against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and his company Automattic. What began as controversial comments in September 2024 became a nasty legal battle with many WordPress users caught in the middle. At the time of writing, the preliminary injunction granted by the California District Court has given WP Engine what can be considered a win, with Automattic taking a beating across the board.

KEY TAKEAWAYS  

  • What began as inflammatory public comments quickly evolved into concrete actions that would have far-reaching consequences for these two companies and the broader WordPress community. 
  • The legal dispute between WordPress vs WP Engine revealed serious allegations of anti-competitive behavior in the WordPress space and abuse of platform control, leading to swift legal action. 
  • The ruling represents a comprehensive defeat for Automattic and sets a precedent for fair competition and platform governance in the WordPress ecosystem. 
  • Website owners and WordPress users must understand how the hearing changes might affect their hosting and websites soon. 
  • The WordPress vs WP Engine ruling helps ensure a more stable, competitive, and user-friendly WordPress experience, potentially leading to better services and more choices for end users. 

What Started it All 

Before we get into the latest news, here is a quick refresher on what started it all and the events leading up to the WP Engine dispute with Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and Automattic CEO. Automattic is the company behind WordPress.com; they maintain and operate the entire   WordPress Content Management System (CMS).

Strip Banner Text - Antitrust lawsuit filed against Matt Mullenweg & Automattic.

In late September 2024, Mullenweg published a blog post referring to WP Engine (a managed WordPress hosting provider) as a “cancer to WordPress”. He also took shots at the private equity firm Silver Lake, WP Engine’s holding company. These inflammatory statements kicked off a series of events that rapidly escalated into arguably the biggest WordPress hosting controversy of the year.

The immediate aftermath was that WP Engine responded with a cease-and-desist letter, demanding a retraction from Mullenweg. Instead of backing down, Automattic countered with a cease-and-desist letter, claiming intellectual property infringement by WP Engine, unfair business practices, and the fact that they benefited financially by using the WordPress trademark without contributing its fair share to the WordPress ecosystem.

The situation further deteriorated when Mullenweg, also the director of the non-profit WordPress Foundation, took direct (some would say ‘petty’) action by blocking WP Engine’s access to certain WordPress.org resources.

Despite temporarily lifting the ban from September 27 to October 1st, one can only imagine what their customer support team had to go through, as this affected their ability to update WordPress themes and plugins for sites hosted on their web servers.

This move later became a central issue in the legal proceedings. The ban effectively restricted the hosting company’s ability to maintain and update its services; this directly affected WP Engine customers. Mullenweg also added a check box to the WordPress site’s login page, prompting users to confirm they are not associated with WP Engine.

Things moved from social media and blog posts to a United States courtroom on October 2, 2024. WP Engine took legal action by filing a personal antitrust lawsuit against both Automattic and Matt Mullenweg. The lawsuit centered around accusations of extortion and abuse of power, particularly focusing on Automattic’s actions that directly impacted WP Engine’s business and WordPress users. 

At the heart of the lawsuit were three specific actions taken by Automattic that WP Engine claimed were anti-competitive:

  • Automattic blocked WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org resources. As a result, WP Engine could not access and update its popular Advanced Custom Field (ACF) plugin. 
  • Automattic took control of the ACF plugin, forked it, and named their version ‘Secure Custom Fields (SCF)’. 
  • As mentioned, they implemented a login check box specifically targeting WP Engine-affiliated users. 

While Automattic argued it was necessary to prevent potential risks of unauthorized access and maintain the platform’s integrity, many in the WordPress community criticized this as excessive and disruptive, especially considering the platform’s open-source ideals. 

Looking to get immediate relief from these actions, WP Engine filed a request for a preliminary injunction. Automattic’s legal team responded by attempting to dismiss the case through a California anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) claim, arguing that the lawsuit was an attempt to silence protected speech. 

Despite Automattic’s efforts to challenge the injunction request through the anti-SLAPP motion, the case proceeded to a hearing. The court’s decision to move forward with the hearing showed that WP Engine’s claims had enough merit to warrant full consideration, setting the stage for what would become a landmark ruling in the history of WordPress hosting.

WordPress vs WP Engine: Ruling & Implications 

On December 10, 2024, California District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín delivered a decision in favor of WP Engine, granting the request for a preliminary injunction against Automattic and WordPress founder Mullenweg.  

The ruling primarily resulted in a defeat across the board for Automattic and helped establish clear boundaries for how they govern the open-source platform and the WordPress experience. The court order included several specific mandates that Automattic and Mullenweg must follow. 

They were given 72 hours to restore WP Engine’s access to the WordPress.org open-source software. They were also required to cease any interference with WP Engine’s plugins and extensions. This included returning full access to and control of the ACF plugin, which Automattic had forked and renamed. 

The court also mandated that Automattic stop interfering with WP Engine’s WordPress installations through auto-migrate or auto-update commands that could modify or disable WP Engine plugins without explicit consent.

Additionally, the ruling ordered the removal of discriminatory practices, specifically the controversial checkbox on WordPress.org that required users to verify they weren’t affiliated with WP Engine when logging in. They also had to? remove customer data from a website that tracks users who migrated their sites away from WP Engine.

Notably, the judge determined that implementing these orders would have no significant negative impact on Automattic or Mullenweg. This helped further strengthen the case for granting the injunction, maintaining the status quo, and preventing further harm to WP Engine and its hosted WordPress sites while the case proceeds.

Strip Banner Text - A California Court has issued a preliminary injunction in favor of WP Engine.

In a quote, the court explained:

“Here, the public consequences of withholding injunctive relief are significant. Mullenweg himself acknowledges that ‘[t]oday, more than 40% of all websites run on WordPress’. 

…Over two million websites run the ACF plugin Mullenweg allegedly tampered with, and those users rely on the stability of the plugin, and WordPress more broadly, to operate their websites, run their businesses, and go about their day online. 

Moreover, the availability of WordPress as open-source software has created a sector for companies to operate at a profit. This includes Mullenweg’s own companies like Automattic and Pressable, and as Mullenweg himself acknowledged in 2017, it also includes WP Engine, which at the time, Mullenweg described as ‘the largest dedicated managed WP host…’ 

Those who have relied on WordPress’s stability, and the continuity of support from for-fee service providers who have built businesses around WordPress, should not have to suffer the uncertainty, losses, and increased costs of doing business attendant to the parties’ current dispute. 

Defendants’ arguments in opposition do not persuade otherwise. 

…Accordingly, the final Winter element – the public interest – weighs in favor of granting preliminary injunctive relief.” 

WP Engine gave this statement in response to the outcome:

“We are grateful that the court has granted our motion for a preliminary injunction. The order will bring back much-needed stability to the WordPress ecosystem. WP Engine is focused on serving our partners and customers and working with the community to find ways to ensure a vigorous and thriving WordPress community.” 

Automattic’s legal team issued their own response: 

“Today’s ruling is a preliminary order designed to maintain the status quo. It was made without the benefit of discovery, our motion to dismiss, or the counterclaims we will be filing against WP Engine shortly. We look forward to prevailing at trial as we continue to protect the open-source ecosystem during full-fact discovery and a full review of the merits.” 

Based on that, we can safely assume the WordPress vs WP Engine drama will continue.  

What This Could Mean for The Future

WordPress.org is open-source technology which means that users can download the source code for free to build a website and use hosting services like Hosted.com.

Obviously, the WordPress vs WP Engine conflict has created divisions within the open-source community. Matt Mullenweg’s public criticism of WP Engine and the actions taken against it have sparked debates and unrest among users and developers. 

The forced fork of the ACF plugin and other restrictive measures have undermined trust in the WordPress ecosystem. Users have expressed concerns about the stability and reliability of plugins and WordPress websites. 

The court ruling has potential implications that extend beyond the corporate battleground to affect WordPress users, hosts, and small businesses. 

One of the good things is that it sets new precedents that may influence the future of WordPress hosting best practices and related services. This is because the decision aims to bring stability and peace of mind back to how the platform is run. 

Additionally, this whole debacle underscores the need for better cooperation and governance within the WordPress community. Automattic and Mullenweg may need to work on rebuilding trust and fostering more collaboration for a long time to prevent similar conflicts in the future. 

There are also possible long-term impacts on the world’s most popular Content Management System’s operations, customer experience, and reputation. 

Strip Banner Text - What does this mean for the future of WordPress?

For website owners, this ruling provides an important practical implication. Those using hosting providers like Hosted.com can expect more stable and reliable service without worrying about potential access issues or restrictions to essential resources for their online presence.

FAQs

What started the conflict between WordPress vs WP Engine?  

The conflict between WordPress vs WP Engine began in September 2024 when Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic and WordPress co-founder, called WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress” in a public blog post. 

Why did WP Engine sue Matt Mullenweg?  

WP Engine filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging extortion and abuse of power after Matt Mullenweg and Automattic blocked their access to WordPress.org resources, interfered with their ACF plugin access, and implemented discriminatory login verification. 

What did the court order Automattic to do?  

The court ordered Automattic to restore WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org, stop interfering with their plugins, remove the login verification, and cease interfering with WP Engine’s WordPress installations. 

Is the legal battle between WordPress vs WP Engine over? 

No, the latest ruling was for a preliminary injunction to prevent harm to WP Engine. The broader WordPress vs WP Engine legal battle is still ongoing. 

What happens if Automattic doesn’t comply with the court order?  

Not complying with a court order could result in additional legal consequences and penalties for Automattic. 

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