WP Engine wins legal battle to regain access to WordPress.org

In what might be one of the most high-profile spats in the WordPress community since someone misspelled “plugin” as “plugh-in” (causing a week-long flame war in 2010*).

WP Engine has emerged victorious in a legal skirmish against Automattic, the corporate overlord(s) behind WordPress. On December 10, 2024, a California district court granted WP Engine a preliminary injunction, compelling Automattic to stop acting like a bouncer at an exclusive nightclub and let WP Engine back into WordPress.org. It’s a win that has sent shockwaves through a community that thrives on the “open-source kumbaya” ethos – or so we thought.

This beef started sizzling in September 2024 when Matt Mullenweg, WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO, went full scorched earth during a keynote speech. Referring to WP Engine as a “cancer to WordPress,” he accused the hosting giant of freeloading off the WordPress brand while allegedly not giving back enough to the community. Ouch. This public clapback was followed by an actual block of WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org on September 25, 2024, cutting them off from vital tools like the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin. To add insult to injury, Automattic rebranded the plugin as Secure Custom Fields (SCF), sparking a rebranding war no one asked for.

By October 1, the ban was permanent, and WP Engine was left scrambling to appease angry customers who were canceling subscriptions faster than developers download free themes they’ll never use.

The court’s verdict: “Stop being mean”

The court ruled that Automattic’s actions caused irreparable harm to WP Engine and could not simply be dismissed as “business as usual.” Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín didn’t mince words, calling out Automattic for playing dirty with its selective blockades. Key mandates from the ruling include:

• Restoring WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org, plugins, and other resources as they were before the ban.
• Handing back control of the ACF plugin to WP Engine (SCF is dead, long live ACF!).
• Removing that highly questionable checkbox Automattic added to WordPress.org, which essentially forced developers to declare loyalty by stating whether they had any ties to WP Engine. This checkbox made even loyalty oaths in dystopian novels look subtle.

The ruling is not just a win for WP Engine – it’s a pointed reminder to Automattic that playing gatekeeper in an open-source community doesn’t sit well with, well, anyone.

Ripple effects across the WordPress community

For those in the WordPress world, this case raises serious questions: Who decides what’s “fair play” in open-source governance? Is Automattic leveraging its control of WordPress.org in ways that stifle competition? And most importantly, can you ever really trust someone who rebrands a plugin like it’s the “WIld West” all over again?

The ruling highlighted that without the injunction, WP Engine would suffer catastrophic losses – not just in revenue, but also in credibility. Automattic’s actions risked creating a chilling effect, potentially discouraging other hosting providers and developers from actively participating in the WordPress ecosystem for fear of similar treatment.

This dispute has ignited debate about how much power one entity should wield in an open-source ecosystem. WordPress runs roughly 43% of the internet, which means the stakes aren’t just high – they’re stratospheric. WP Engine, for its part, is playing the “David” in this David vs. Goliath narrative, though critics point out that both companies operate with revenue figures that could make small nations blush.

Meanwhile, Automattic (or just Matt?) seems ready to fight tooth and nail, promising counterclaims and even doubling down on its criticisms of WP Engine. Mullenweg has admitted that some of his actions caused internal dissent, leading to employee resignations. Maybe it’s time Automattic revisits that whole “democratizing publishing” slogan.

While this ruling is a win for WP Engine, the conflict illustrates a dangerous imbalance in how resources and power are distributed in what is ostensibly an open platform. This case could redefine relationships between WordPress’s key stakeholders – hosting providers, developers, and Automattic itself-setting the stage for similar disputes in the future.

Let’s be real: Open source has always had its fair share of drama, but this? This is an HBO miniseries waiting to happen. With more legal battles looming, it’s safe to say that the WordPress community will be glued to this saga. And hey, if nothing else, it’s a reminder that even in the world of plugins and PHP, the stakes are anything but small.

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References

1. TechRadar: Court orders WordPress parent company to stop blocking WP Engine access
2. The Verge: Automattic must restore WP Engine access to WordPress.org
3. TechCrunch: Court orders Mullenweg to restore WP Engine’s WordPress access
4. Engadget: WP Engine wins preliminary injunction in WordPress battle
5. The Register: WP Engine wins injunction against Automattic
6. *- it was a joke.