The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained

This story has been updated throughout with more details as the story has developed. We will continue to do so as the case and dispute are ongoing.

The community around WordPress, one of the most popular technologies for creating and hosting websites, is going through a very heated controversy. At the core is a fight between WordPress' co-creator and Automattic's CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, which hosts websites built on WordPress.

WordPress' technology is open source and free, and it powers a huge chunk of the internet — around 40% of websites are built on top of WordPress. Websites can host their own WordPress instance or use a solution provider like Automattic or WP Engine for a plug-and-play solution.

In mid-September, Mullenweg, who owns WordPress.org and the WordPress Foundation, launched a campaign against WP Engine with a blog post in which he called the company a "cancer to WordPress," calling it out for not contributing sufficiently to the open source project. He also said WP Engine's use of the "WP" brand has confused customers into believing it is part of WordPress.

Since then, Mullenweg/Automattic and WP Engine have been locked in a legal battle. Mullenweg has accused WP Engine of infringing the WordPress trademark, while WP Engine has hit Mullenweg and Automattic with a lawsuit, accusing them of extortion, interference with operations, abuse of power, and harm to business.

The turmoil has affected both companies and the WordPress community at large. Contributors to the open source project and leaders of companies in the ecosystem have spoken out against the fight, calling for governance changes and highlighting concerns about Mullenweg's lack of accountability.

Here's a quick recap of the entire saga:

The legal battle

In a reply to Mullenweg's comments, WP Engine in September sent a cease-and-desist letter to Mullenweg and Automattic, asking them to withdraw their comments. It also said that its use of the WordPress trademark was covered under fair use.

The company claimed that Mullenweg had said he would take a “scorched earth nuclear approach” against WP Engine unless it agreed to pay "a significant percentage of its revenues for a license to the WordPress trademark."

In response, Automattic sent its own cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, saying that they had breached WordPress and WooCommerce trademark usage rules.

The WordPress Foundation, owned by Mullenweg, also changed its Trademark Policy page and called out WP Engine, alleging the hosting service has confused users.