The dispute between WP Engine and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has moved to a legal dimension. WP Engine filed a lawsuit in court to stop Mullenweg’s public campaign against the company and restore access to resources on the WordPress platform. This process created significant tension in the WordPress ecosystem.
In its application to the court last week, WP Engine claimed that the actions of Mullenweg and Automattic caused serious damage to the company. The company was banned on the grounds of loss of customers, decrease in market share and damage to its brand image. “irreversible damage” He stated that he was alive. The complaint stated that the company saw a 14% increase in customer cancellations by the end of September, especially after Mullenweg portrayed WP Engine as a threat to the WordPress community.
Tension between WP Engine and WordPress community
The debate was further fueled when Automattic, which is closely associated with the WordPress.org project, took over WP Engine’s popular plugin Advanced Custom Fields (ACF). ACF users on WordPress.org were upgraded to a new version called “secure custom domains” and this change resulted in the loss of control of a plugin controlled by WP Engine. Additionally, a whitepaper was published to WordPress.org users encouraging them to move away from WP Engine. This step, WP Engine claims, jeopardized the company’s competitiveness and reputation within the WordPress community.
Matt Mullenweg runs WP Engine, “Harmful to the WordPress community” He claimed that this company unfairly benefited the WordPress brand. Legal threats and threats between the two parties “cease and desist” (cease and desist) requests were sent mutually. WP Engine against Automattic and Mullenweg after these moves “abuse of power, extortion and greed” He filed a lawsuit with accusations. The company claims that Automattic abused its power over WordPress.
Request for a preliminary stay from the court
In the petition submitted by WP Engine to the court, it was pointed out that the developer community in particular was concerned about this process. In the petition, “developers fear becoming Mullenweg’s next target or having their plugins extorted” The statement was included. The company also argued that these interventions by Automattic caused security vulnerabilities in the WordPress community.
Spokesperson Megan Fox, speaking on behalf of Automattic, completely rejected WP Engine’s claims. Fox, WP Engine “he puts his profit before the interests of the community” and that Automattic unfairly benefited from their voluntary contributions. Fox also said that WP Engine distorted the current situation and that its claims did not reflect the truth.
This legal process is of great importance for the future of the WordPress community. Major plugin developers and third-party platforms in particular are closely following the outcome of WP Engine’s lawsuit.