Executive Director Of WordPress Resigns via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of the WordPress Project, officially announced her resignation, ending a nine-year tenure. This comes just two weeks after Matt Mullenweg launched a controversial campaign against a managed WordPress host, which responded by filing a federal lawsuit against him and Automattic.

She posted an upbeat notice on her personal blog, reaffirming her belief in the open source community as  positive economic force as well as the importance of strong opinions that are “loosely  held.”

She wrote:

“This week marks my last as the Executive Director of the WordPress project. My time with WordPress has transformed me, both as a leader and an advocate. There’s still more to do in our shared quest to secure a self-sustaining future of the open source project that we all love, and my belief in our global community of contributors remains unchanged.

…I still believe that open source is an idea that can transform generations. I believe in the power of a good-hearted group of people. I believe in the importance of strong opinions, loosely held. And I believe the world will always need the more equitable opportunities that well-maintained open source can provide: access to knowledge and learning, easy-to-join peer and business networks, the amplification of unheard voices, and a chance to tap into economic opportunity for those who weren’t born into it.”

Turmoil At WordPress

The resignation comes amidst the backdrop of a conflict between WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and the managed WordPress web host WP Engine, which has brought unprecedented turmoil within the WordPress community, including a federal lawsuit filed by WP Engine accusing Mullenweg of attempted extortion.

Resignation News Was Leaked

The news about the resignation was leaked on October 2nd by the founder of the WordPress news site WP Tavern (now owned by Matt Mullenweg), who tweeted that he had spoken with Josepha that evening, who announced her resignation.

He posted:

“I spoke with Josepha tonight. I can confirm that she’s no longer at Automattic.

She’s working on a statement for the community. She’s in good spirits despite the turmoil.”

Screenshot Of Deleted Tweet

Josepha tweeted the following response the next day:

“Ok, this is not how I expected that news to come to y’all. I apologize that this is the first many of you heard of it. Please don’t speculate about anything.”

Rocky Period For WordPress

While her resignation was somewhat of an open secret it’s still a significant event because of recent events at WordPress, including the resignations of 8.4% of Automattic employees as a result of an offer of a generous severance package to all employees who no longer wished to work  there.

Read the official announcement:

Thank you, WordPress

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators

8% Of Automattic Employees Choose To Resign via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO announced today that he offered Automattic employees the chance to resign with a severance pay and a total of 8.4 percent. Mullenweg offered $30,000 or six months of salary, whichever one is higher, with a total of 159 people taking his offer.

Reactions Of Automattic Employees

Given the recent controversies created by Mullenweg, one might be tempted to view the walkout as a vote of no-confidence in Mullenweg. But that would be a mistake because some of the employees announcing their resignations either praised Mullenweg or simply announced their resignation while many others tweeted how happy they are to stay at Automattic.

One former employee tweeted that he was sad about recent developments but also praised Mullenweg and Automattic as an employer.

He shared:

“Today was my last day at Automattic. I spent the last 2 years building large scale ML and generative AI infra and products, and a lot of time on robotics at night and on weekends.

I’m going to spend the next month taking a break, getting married, and visiting family in Australia.

I have some really fun ideas of things to build that I’ve been storing up for a while. Now I get to build them. Get in touch if you’d like to build AI products together.”

Another former employee, Naoko Takano, is a 14 year employee, an organizer of WordCamp conferences in Asia, a full-time WordPress contributor and Open Source Project Manager at Automattic announced on X (formerly Twitter) that today was her last day at Automattic with no additional comment.

She tweeted:

“Today was my last day at Automattic.

I’m actively exploring new career opportunities. If you know of any positions that align with my skills and experience!”

Naoko’s role at at WordPress was working with the global WordPress community to improve contributor experiences through the Five for the Future and Mentorship programs. Five for the Future is an important WordPress program that encourages organizations to donate 5% of their resources back into WordPress. Five for the Future is one of the issues Mullenweg had against WP Engine, asserting that they didn’t donate enough back into the community.

Mullenweg himself was bittersweet to see those employees go, writing in a blog post:

“It was an emotional roller coaster of a week. The day you hire someone you aren’t expecting them to resign or be fired, you’re hoping for a long and mutually beneficial relationship. Every resignation stings a bit.

However now, I feel much lighter. I’m grateful and thankful for all the people who took the offer, and even more excited to work with those who turned down $126M to stay. As the kids say, LFG!”

Read the entire announcement on Mullenweg’s blog:

Automattic Alignment

Featured Image by Shutterstock/sdx15

WordPress Co-Founder & Automattic Sued For Attempted Extortion via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WP Engine, the managed web host recently banned from WordPress.org, has filed a federal lawsuit against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging attempted extortion as well as seeking relief from trademark infringement claims.

The goal of the federal lawsuit is to stop Mullenweg from continuing to “harm” WP Engine and the WordPress ecosystem as well as to hold Mullenweg and Automattic accountable for their “broken promises and malfeasance.” Malfeasance refers to wrongful or illegal conduct that may involve violations of the law or unethical actions, particularly by someone in a position of authority.

What The 98 Page Lawsuit Is About

The TL/DR of the lawsuit is that it’s “about abuse of power, extortion, and greed.” It states that the open source WordPress ecosystem was built on the promise of the freedom to create with WordPress without any constraints but that those promises were not kept and that the failure to keep those promises constituted wrongful acts, including making false statements to the IRS, among many other accusations backed up with evidence.

WP Engine made the following statement to Search Engine Journal:

“Matt Mullenweg and Automattic’s self-proclaimed scorched earth campaign against WP Engine has harmed not just our company, but the entire WordPress ecosystem. The symbiotic relationship between WordPress, its community and the businesses that invest millions to support WordPress users, and advance the ecosystem, is based on trust in the promises of openness and freedom.

Matt Mullenweg’s conduct over the last ten days has exposed significant conflicts of interests and governance issues that, if left unchecked, threaten to destroy that trust. WP Engine has no choice but to pursue these claims to protect its people, agency partners, customers, and the broader WordPress community.”

WP Engine’s lawsuit asks for judgment on these eleven points:

(1) Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations;
(2) Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Relations;
(3) Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 et seq.;
(4) Attempted Extortion;
(5) Unfair Competition, Cal. Bus. Prof. Code § 17200, et seq.;
(6) Promissory Estoppel;
(7) Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement;
(8) Declaratory Judgment of Non-Dilution;
(9) Libel;
(10) Trade Libel; and
(11) Slander

Denial Of Trademark Infringement

The lawsuit filed by WP Engine denies the assertion by Mullenweg that the use of the word “WordPress” to refer to the open source project is subject to licensing fees, asserting that not only is the use of the name of the project legal and necessary in order to communicate information that consumers need, WP Engine asserts that the use of the name WordPress is freely used by the entire WordPress community and that said use has been condoned by the defendant Mullenweg.

Many times, lawsuits are won or lost based on the evidence provided and WP Engine’s lawsuit offers evidence to back up every allegation made against Mullenweg and Automattic.

For example, the lawsuit provides evidence that WP Engine was not misusing or infringing on the trademarks and that Mullenweg had been fully aware of WPE’s use of the challenged terms.

• WP Engine’s membership in the ‘Five for the Future’ program is an acknowledgment that WPE was not infringing because one of the requirements of membership is to not currently be infringing on trademarks
• Matt Mullenweg praised WP Engine on March 21, 2023 at the DE{CODE} developer conference, despite the fact that WPE used the challenged terms on their website at the time. The lawsuit quotes Mullenweg’s public statement: “vote with your wallet. So when you support companies like WPE, who don’t just provide a commercial service, but are also part of a wider open source community, you’re saying, hey, I want more of this in the world.”
• Matt Mullenweg publicly acknowledged in an X livestream on September 26, 2024 that he knew WP Engine used the terms “for years” but that he had chosen not to take action.

Accusation Of False Statements To State Of California

The lawsuit also accuses that following the official incorporation of WordPress.org as a non-profit that Mullenweg of publicly transferred the WordPress trademark from Automattic to the non-profit WordPress Foundation but then secretly transferred it right back to Automattic through an exclusive sublicensable license which allowed Automattic to control the WordPress trademark. This contract between the WordPress Foundation and Automattic is the basis of their accusation that Mullenweg had made false statements to the state of California.

The lawsuit asserts:

“Mullenweg failed to disclose this exclusive licensing arrangement between his nonprofit (the WordPress Foundation) and his for-profit (Automattic) in the WordPress Foundation’s tax filings with the California government, claiming that there were no ‘contracts . . . between [WordPress Foundation] and any officer, director or trustee . . . or with an entity in which any such officer, director or trustee had any financial interest’ …This statement was false, given that Mullenweg was a director of the WordPress Foundation while also having a financial interest in Automattic, the entity with which the Foundation entered into a trademark license agreement—an apparent self-dealing transaction constituting inurement under federal tax law.”

Allegation: Mullenweg Made False Statements To IRS

WP Engine also states that Mullenweg has made false statements to the IRS.

The lawsuit documents the following:

“It appears Mullenweg also did not disclose the license agreement in the WordPress Foundation’s filings with the IRS, and none of WordPress Foundation’s fourteen years of publicly available federal reporting to the IRS indicates that the WordPress Foundation was compensated in any form for granting an exclusive, fully-paid, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sublicensable license for trademarks Defendants now claim are incredibly valuable. Indeed, while the Foundation has failed to ever disclose to the IRS its ownership of the trademarks or existence of the exclusive royalty-free license to Automattic, for the past seven years Mullenweg himself executed the IRS forms on behalf of the Foundation under penalties of perjury, an apparent false certification to the IRS and public that the Foundation’s Forms 990 were true, correct, and complete.”

Additionally, the lawsuit shows that in 2011 Mullenweg filed IRS forms claiming that the non-profit WordPress Foundation only had assets of $14,071 and made no mention of assets like trademarks or other IP (intellectual property).

False Statements About Trademark Ownership

Another of the accusations made in the lawsuits is that Mullenweg had made misleading public statements asserting that the trademarks had been transferred to the non-profit WordPress foundation, even though he had secretly transferred the trademark back to Automattic through an exclusive sublicensable license. A sublicensable license is an agreement in which the original license holder (the licensor) grants a second party (the licensee) the right to grant a license to a third party (the sublicensee).

The lawsuit states:

“In 2010, in response to mounting public concern, the WordPress source code and trademarks were placed into the nonprofit WordPress Foundation (which Mullenweg created), with Mullenweg and Automattic making sweeping promises of open access for all: “Automattic has transferred the WordPress trademark to the WordPress Foundation, the nonprofit dedicated to promoting and ensuring access to WordPress and related open source projects in perpetuity. This means that the most central piece of WordPress’s identity, its name, is now fully independent from any company.” Mullenweg and Automattic reiterated this promise later, in even more forceful terms: ‘What’s important is that [] longer than I’m alive, longer than Automattic is alive, longer than any of us are alive, there is something that holds the WordPress code and trademark for the free access for the world.”

What Defendants’ statements and assurances did not disclose is that while they were publicly touting their purported good deed of moving this intellectual property away from a private company, and into the safe hands of a nonprofit, Defendants in fact had quietly transferred irrevocable, exclusive, royalty-free rights in the WordPress trademarks right back to Automattic that very same day in 2010. This meant that far from being “independent of any company” as Defendants had promised, control over the WordPress trademarks effectively never left Automattic’s hands. “

WP Engine writes that it relied on the promises made when it was founded in 2010 as a business built around WordPress, investing hundreds of millions of dollars over the past 14 years only to see WordPress turned against it by the “petulant whims” of Automattic’s CEO, Matt Mullenweg to “inflict harm” to WP Engine’s business.

Further claims are made that the request for payment of tens of millions of dollars for a trademark license (that WPE claims is not needed) came “without warning” and that they were given only 48 hours to make the decision to pay or face being banned and “publicly smeared.”

Alleges Mullenweg Controls WordPress Foundation For Self-Interest

The lawsuit also claims that the recent events at WordCamp and the days thereafter exposes that the non-profit WordPress Foundation is an entity that Mullenweg personally controls for his own and Automattic’s commercial interest.

“Mullenweg’s recent actions have exposed and highlighted his long history of obfuscating the true facts about his control and manipulation of the WordPress Foundation and wordpress.org—which he presents as a not-for-profit ‘dot-org’ enterprise, but which in fact he solely owns and directs with an iron fist to further his own commercial interests in Automattic and associated commercial businesses, to the detriment of Defendants’ competitors.”

Fallout From Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed October 2nd and there is already a credible report that the WordPress Executive Director/General Manager, Open Source Division; Automattic, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, has resigned and will be making an announcement today October 3rd. The statement about this was posted on X by WP Tavern journalist Jeff Chandler who has been involved with WordPress since 2007.

He tweeted:

“I spoke with Josepha tonight. I can confirm that she’s no longer at Automattic.

She’s working on a statement for the community. She’s in good spirits despite the turmoil.”

I spoke with Josepha tonight. I can confirm that she’s no longer at Automattic.

She’s working on a statement for the community. She’s in good spirits despite the turmoil.

— Jeff (@jeffr0) October 3, 2024

Read the 98 page federal lawsuit here: (PDF)

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Billion Photos

WordPress Gives WP Engine Users A Reprieve via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Matt Mullenweg posted on WordPress.org that WP Engine users have been granted a reprieve from the block on the WordPress plugin and theme repository until October 1st, allowing them to access updates as usual.

WordPress Versus WP Engine

Matt Mullenweg and popular web host WP Engine have been locked in a conflict for the past week over a commercial licensing fee that other web hosts pay but WP Engine does not. The issue between them stems from the frustrations on Mullenweg’s side with the perception that WP Engine is not giving back enough to WordPress in the way that they should. Prominent figures in the WordPress industry like Joost de Valk agree with Mullenweg that companies, including WP Engine, should give back more to WordPress.

WP Engine has offered their side of the story have gone as far as to send a formal cease and desist letter for what they perceive as an unfair attack on their business.

Regardless of who is right or wrong, WordPress users on WP Engine are caught in the middle of this conflict, with their businesses disrupted by Mullenweg’s decision to block WP Engine from accessing the WordPress.org plugin and theme repository, preventing them from updating plugins and themes.

Temporary Reprieve

Mullenweg posted on WordPress.org that he has heard from WordPress users and has decided to give the WordPress users a chance for WP Engine to set up a solution so that they won’t be inconvenienced. WP Engine has until October 1st to engineer a workaround.

He wrote:

“I’ve heard from WP Engine customers that they are frustrated that WP Engine hasn’t been able to make updates, plugin directory, theme directory, and Openverse work on their sites. It saddens me that they’ve been negatively impacted by Silver Lake‘s commercial decisions.

WP Engine was well aware that we could remove access when they chose to ignore our efforts to resolve our differences and enter into a commercial licensing agreement. Heather Brunner, Lee Wittlinger, and their Board chose to take this risk.

…We have lifted the blocks of their servers from accessing ours, until October 1, UTC 00:00. Hopefully this helps them spin up their mirrors of all of WordPress.org’s resources that they were using for free while not paying, and making legal threats against us.”

Read more at WordPress.org:

WP Engine Reprieve

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Vladimka production

Yoast Co-Founder Suggests A WordPress Contributor Board via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Joost de Valk, co-founder of the Yoast SEO plugin, published an article calling for more equitable contributions from large WordPress companies, greater financial transparency, and a new board that represents the voices of contributors and companies.

Joost de Valk Supports Matt Mullenweg

Joost de Valk’s article is supportive of WordPress and agrees with Automattic’s CEO Matt Mullenweg that WP Engine should contribute more to WordPress. He praises Mullenweg and Automattic for the amount of contributions they make to WordPress, contrasting Mullenweg’s example against those who are financially benefiting the most from WordPress but don’t contribute on a level that’s reflective of their rewards.

He writes:

“I agree with Matt about his opinion that a big hosting company such as WPEngine should contribute more. It is the right thing to do.”

Joost writes that these aren’t just words to him, that they reflect his values and actions, sharing that his organization contributed so much time to the Gutenberg Project that it was literally at the expense of his own for-profit venture in that, while they “still made a lot of money” their revenue did experience a dip.

He thus envisions creating a board that’s representative of stakeholders as a way to encourage a healthy sustainable open source ecosystem with greater transparency and community representation.

Business Success Informs His Opinion

His idea for cultivating a health self-perpetuating open source community has been his guiding principle and is what he credits for his business success. In a 2013 WordCamp presentation he shared his experience of spending many years contributing to WordPress and creating a wildly popular plugin while not yet making any money. He reached a point where he had a day job to support his WordPress hobby and had to decide how to flip that so that they hobby became his day job.

In that presentation (The Victory Of The Commons) he described two ways of thinking about his situation, one in which he just goes all-in and focuses on doing what’s best for him and another path where he does what’s best for him and the WordPress community.

Joost credits his wife with suggesting to solve his problem by looking at it within the framework of the Tragedy Of The Commons. The Tragedy Of The Commons is a concept of how individuals can decide to either manage a shared resource to create a sustainable living for the community or behave in self-interest and eventually deplete the resource, thus harming the entire community.

He shared the following in that 2013 WordCamp presentation:

“So, if everyone in the WordPress community, if we all looked at it like this, we can make money and make sure that we reinvest that money, we’d grow.”

He said that creating something and giving it away is not necessarily good. He said it’s better for everyone to make “piles and piles of money” with the work but giving some of that back supports you and the community in a self-sustaining circle. He insisted that reinvesting “in the pasture” was paramount to working within the WordPress open source community.

“Reinvest some of that profit into all of our main pasture, WordPress. We all benefit.”

New WordPress Foundation Board

One of the solutions that Joost suggests is the creation of a board that provides representation to those who contribute to WordPress. Joost uses the analogy of taxation with representation as the basis for a WordPress Foundation board so that those who contribute can also be heard as part of the decision making process.

What he envisions isn’t a governing board with decision making power but one that serves in an advisory position that can participate as part of a dialogue within the decision-making structure.

He writes:

“I think this could actually help Matt, as I do understand that it’s very lonely at the top.

With such a group, we could also discuss how to better highlight companies that are contributing and how to encourage others to do so.”

The three main points he makes are:

1. Representation Of Stakeholders

“In my opinion, we all should get a say in how we spend those contributions. I understand that core contributors are very important, but so are the organizers of our (flagship) events, the leadership of hosting companies, etc. We need to find a way to have a group of people who represent the community and the contributing corporations.”

2. Facilitation Of Transparent Discussions

“Now I don’t mean to say that Matt should no longer be project leader. I just think that we should more transparently discuss with a ‘board’ of some sorts, about the roadmap and the future of WordPress as many people and companies depend on it.”

3. Encouragement And Recognition Of Contributions

“With such a group, we could also discuss how to better highlight companies that are contributing and how to encourage others to do so.”

Transparency With Money

One of the points that Joost brings up is somewhat separate from the creation of a contributor board and it’s about the payments made to Automattic for trademark deals.  He says that thing mingling of money creates a situation where it’s uncertain how much of it is used by Automattic as contributions to WordPress.

He writes:

“…let everybody see how the money flows.

Currently the way it works is that the money for trademark deals flows to Automattic, but we don’t know how much of the contributions Automattic does are paid for by Newfold, whom we now all know are paying for the use of the trademark. Maybe the money should go directly into the foundation? If not, I think we should at least see how many of the hours contributed by Automattic are actually contributed by Newfold.”

WordPress May Be At A Crossroad

WordPress may be at a historic crossroad that could lead to different outcomes. Joost suggests doubling down on open source by engaging with the entire WordPress community, returning to the ideal of reinvesting in “the pasture” to create a sustainable system that allows everyone to make “piles and piles of money” and achieve the goals users are working toward.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Shutterstock AI Generator

WordPress Bans Thousands Of WP Engine Customers via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WordPress banned WP Engine, a managed WordPress web host, blocking thousands of websites from adding or updating plugins and themes. Technology writer Robert Scoble described the decision as “universally hated in tech” and that out of hundreds of posts on the subject almost none was on Mullenweg’s side on the issue.

What Happened

Matt Mullenweg, co-creator of WordPress, accused WP Engine of infringing on their trademarks and demanded tens of millions of dollars in compensation. Things came to a head on the last day of the recent WordCamp WordPress conference when Mullenweg gave WP Engine until 4:30 PM that day to comply with his demands. Failure to agree to those demands led to a public shaming of WP Engine by Mullenweg and the subsequent ban of WP Engine.

WordPress.org Bans WP Engine

In a post titled WP Engine is banned from WordPress.org, Mullenweg announced that WP Engine was banned and cut off from their plugin and theme repository.

He wrote:

“Any WP Engine customers having trouble with their sites should contact WP Engine support and ask them to fix it.”

WP Engine posted an incident report on their website that offered a workaround:

“WordPress.org has blocked WP Engine customers from updating and installing plugins and themes via WP Admin. There is currently no impact on the performance, reliability or security of your site nor does it impact your ability to make updates to your code or content. We know how important this is for you and we are actively developing a remediation for this issue. We will update you as soon as we have a fix.

If you need to install or update a plugin or theme, manual instructions can be found at https://wpengine.com/support/manage-plugins-and-themes-manually

If you have any questions or need assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to our technical support team.”

WordPress Core Contributor Sentiment

WordPress core contributors are apparently not liking the current situation. A post on Reddit by an anonymous code contributor to WordPress indicated that that the core developer community is not rallying around Mullenweg.

The WordPress core contributor wrote:

“WordPress core dev here.

All contributors, Automattic and non Automattic, are watching very closely. We’re also thinking very carefully about our contributions. This is a community project and contributors are part of the community. No matter who is listed as project leadership, we’ll continue to be here for the community.

I’ve said this in other comments, but whether Matt has been accurate doesn’t even come into it for plenty of us. The way this has been done, and is continuing to be done, is such a significant problem to address before even looking at whether he’s been accurate or not.

The community, which includes us at WordPress core, are not rallying around in support of this action. Everyone I’ve spoken to at WordPress core had no prior notice of this action being taken. Given the lack of notice about this latest action, it raises concerns about whether more is to come. Right now, there’s an almost deafening public silence in contributor-to-contributor communication. We’re still trying to regulate our reactions to recent events and hopefully avoid adding more of the kinds of kneejerk actions our whole community have been subjected to in recent days.

Ceasing our own contributions would have further impact on the community. We definitely don’t want that. Even with that at the forefront of my mind, if a decision is made to engage in a collective withdrawal of contributions, with a clearly communicated desired outcome to break that withdrawal, I’d join that action. Regretfully.”

The core contributor related that aside from the warning about legal action, Mullenweg has not discussed his plans or course of action with the WordPress contributors. They also confirmed that none of the core contributors have made a change to “facilitate his actions”.

The core contributor posted a follow up to their comments to say that they’re not seeing anything positive yet.

“It should be crystal clear in Matt’s mind that what’s happening right now can’t continue. How he chooses to act on that knowledge is anyone’s guess. Unfortunately, what I’m seeing in his messages through all communication channels so far doesn’t show signs of anything positive, yet (as I said in my earlier comment, we’re all watching very, very closely).”

Social Media Reaction

An overwhelming number of the posts on X (formerly Twitter) express disappointment with Mullenweg’s actions and are supportive of WP Engine.

Technology writer Robert Scoble posted:

“WordPress at war. So sad.

I was one of the first to use WordPress. I didn’t see this coming. I read hundreds of posts about what @photomatt did and almost none of them are on his side.

Never seen a decision so universally hated in tech. Lots of my old friends are in pain tonight.”

Typical reaction on X:

“This is absolutely insane and such a disgusting abuse of power by @photomatt. I have clients using @wpengine and now they can’t easily install plugins or update themes. #WordPress”

Another WordPress user posted:

“Gotta say, I’m with WP Engine on this. Not saying they are the “good guys” but if we all have to pay Automattic for using the word “WordPress” in our marketing, then we’re all in trouble. This sets a dangerous precedent.”

Read Mullenweg’s post on WordPress.org

WP Engine is banned from WordPress.org

Read the WP Engine Incident Report:

Plugin and Theme Update Restrictions

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators

WordPress Files to Trademark ‘Managed WordPress’ & ‘Hosted WordPress’ via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The WordPress Foundation applied to trademark ‘Managed WordPress’ and ‘Hosted WordPress’ for software and hosting services. If approved, this would limit commercial use of these terms by web hosts and even plugins without prior permission.

Trademark Applications Filed By WordPress

The trademark applications for the two hosting related phrases are dated July 12, 2024 and lists the WordPress Foundation as the applicant of the trademarks on the phrases “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress”.

The WordPress Foundation is the non-profit organization that’s behind the open-source WordPress content management system.

The applications cover the use of the phrases in web hosting, servers for web hosting, downloadable software platforms for web hosting, cloud hosting services, SaaS services, software for managing website content (including downloadable software), web development software, downloadable software for design and managing websites, and plugin software.

Why WordPress Filed Trademarks

The trademark application is filed on an “Intent to Use” basis, which means that they say they’re going to use it.

The trademark applications both inform:

“The applicant has a bona fide intention, and is entitled, to use the mark in commerce on or in connection with the identified
goods/services.”

Who Wants To Own The Trademarks?

The trademark application was filed by the WordPress Foundation, a non-profit entity that is separate from the for-profit Automattic. Yet it was Automattic that was demanding money in exchange for a license to use certain WordPress related phrase.

How can Automattic make claims for trademarks that are claimed by WordPress Foundation, a separate legal entity? The answer to the question may be that the WordPress Foundation has an agreement with Automattic for commercial use and enforcing their trademarks.

The cease and desist sent by WP Engine to Automattic explains:

“During calls on September 17th and 19th, for instance, Automattic CFO Mark Davies told a WP Engine board member that Automattic would “go to war” if WP Engine did not agree to pay its competitor Automattic a significant percentage of its gross revenues – tens of millions of dollars in fact – on an ongoing basis. Mr. Davies suggested the payment ostensibly would be for a “license” to use certain trademarks like WordPress, even though WP Engine needs no such license.

WP Engine’s uses of those marks to describe its services – as all companies in this space do – are fair uses under settled trademark law and consistent with WordPress’ own guidelines.”

The back and forth between WordPress, Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine omits this little detail but it suggests that Automattic is licensed to enforce trademarks on behalf of the WordPress Foundation.

Implications Of Trademark Filing

The trademark application could have an impact on web hosts that use the phrases “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress” because the WordPress Foundation would be able to enforce their ownership of the phrase or ask for licensing fees.

The WordPress Foundation’s role in this trademark application is to assert legal control over the terms “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress” so as to control what entities are able to use those phrases.

If the trademark application passes examination then there is supposed to be a period of time where third parties can file objections to the trademark application.

Read the trademark applications here:

Managed WordPress Trademark Application

Hosted WordPress Trademark Application

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators

WP Engine C&D Alleges “Coercive Threats” By Mullenweg via @sejournal, @martinibuster

WP Engine issued a cease and desist letter to Matt Mullenweg, demanding he stop making ‘false, misleading, and disparaging statements’ and cease using his position at WordPress.org to benefit his for-profit company, Automattic. The letter refutes Mullenweg’s public accusations and outlines his demands for tens of millions of dollars to avoid taking a ‘nuclear approach’ against WP Engine.

A screenshot of a text message by Mullenweg states:

If you’re saying “next week” that’s saying “no”, so I will proceed with the scorched earth nuclear approach to WPE

Thank you for the clarity, it gives me time to work on things and hone my message.

WP Engine Cease And Desist

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of the for-profit Automattic, posted on Reddit and in a Slack channel that WordPress had initiated litigation against WordPress and himself. It was later revealed that WP Engine had in fact filed a Cease and Desist request (C&D).

The C&D document, sent to the Automattic Chief Legal Officer, documents what it says are false factual statements, outlines a timeline of events, and rebuts Mullenweg’s allegations, accusations and statements.

WP Engine makes four key demands:

1. Cease Making False Factual Statements Regarding WP Engine.
2. Cease Interfering with WP Engine’s Contractual Relationships With its Employees.
3. Cease Interfering with WP Engine’s Contractual Relationships With its Customers
4. Preserve All Potentially Relevant Documents and Data.

Mullenweg Accused Of Serious Misconduct

Automattic is accused of “serious misconduct” toward WP Engine, laying out its version of events including that Mullenweg threatened to take a “scorched earth nuclear approach” against WP Engine if it refused to agree to give Automattic tens of millions of dollars in cash by 4:30 PM.

When the deadline for an agreement was not met, the legal document states that Mullenweg publicly made disparaging remarks against WP Engine in front of a live audience, on YouTube and on blog posts on the non-profit WordPress.org website.

In fact, Mullenweg’s posts were linked from the admin panel of every WordPress site around the world, millions of websites.

Screenshot Of A WordPress Admin Panel

Accused Of Abusing His Privileged Position Of Power

WP Engine’s C&D accuses Mullenweg of abusing his unique position as both the CEO of a competitor (Automattic, Inc.) and as a director at the non-profit WordPress.org which produces the open source WordPress content management system.

The document states:

“Mr. Mullenweg’s statements also reflect a clear abuse of his conflicting roles as both (1) the Director of the non-profit WordPress Foundation, and (2) the CEO of at least two for-profit businesses that compete with WP Engine.

…Mr. Mullenweg’s covert demand that WP Engine hand over tens of millions to his for-profit company Automattic, while publicly masquerading as an altruistic protector of the WordPress community, is disgraceful.”

List Of Disparaging Remarks Against WP Engine

WP Engine’s C&D documents all the remarks Mullenweg made:

• Encouragement of WordPress users to switch away from WP Engine
• Suggesting that WP Engine is retaliatory towards its employees
• Accusing WP Engine of misusing the trademarks
• Accusing WP Engine investors of not caring about open source
• Suggesting that WP Engine may be retaliatory against own employees

WP Engine’s C&D rebuts every allegation by Mullenweg, addressing each instance point by point.

Among the rebuttals:

Rebuttal Of Accusation That WP Engine Contributes Little

“Even considering Mr. Mullenweg’s incorrect statement that contribution is only based on hours worked and contributors to Five for the Future, Mr. Mullenweg falsely stated that WP Engine is failing on this metric. In reality, WP Engine is ranked 30 out of 189 in hours contributed and 16 out of 189 in contributors, significantly outpacing multiple other contributors relative to our revenue.”

Rebuttal Of Trademark Misuse

“WP Engine’s use of “WP” is explicitly permitted by WordPress Foundation’s trademark policy:

‘The abbreviation ‘WP’ is not covered by the WordPress trademarks and you are free to use it in any way you see fit.’

Moreover, WP Engine’s use of the WordPress mark is entirely compliant with governing trademark law. For more than a decade, WP Engine has fairly used that term to describe its services, as other members of the WordPress ecosystem do.”

Speculation Of WP Engine Retaliation

“Is not just false and wholly unsubstantiated – it is also absurd.”

What’s Next?

The next move appears to be up to Mullenweg. Many member’s of the WordPress community have already expressed surprise about what Mullenweg did and some on Reddit are calling for Mullenweg to step down.

Screenshot Of Call For Mullenweg To Step Down

Read the official Cease and Desist here (PDF).

Mullenweg: WP Engine Filed Legal Action Against WordPress via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic announced on Reddit that WP Engine initiated legal action against WordPress, Automattic, and Mullenweg himself. Mullenweg wrote that WordPress is countersuing.

WP Engine is a leading managed WordPress host provider that Mullenweg alleges is violating the WordPress trademark.

Mullenweg’s comments came in a Reddit thread titled “Matt Mullenweg needs to step down from WordPress.org leadership ASAP” in which he explained his side of the issue with WP Engine.

He wrote that he discussed the situation with the WP Engine employees attending the WordCamp WordPress conference last Friday in which he mentioned possibly banning WP Engine and that he was trying to resolve his issue with the company up until his closing Q&A which he decided turned into a speech against WP Engine.

Mullenweg described visiting the WP Engine booth at WordCamp and offering to print the employees new attendee badges in the even that WP Engine is banned.

His description:

“That *if* we had to take down the WP Engine booth and ban WP Engine that evening, my colleague Chloé could print them all new personal badges if they still wanted to attend the conference personally, as they are community members, not just their company.”

Mullenweg insisted that he tried to resolve the conflict:

“The entire day I was in discussions with Heather Brunner and Lee Wittlinger trying to de-escalate and resolve their trademark violations and bad behavior in the WordPress community. I returned to the booth around 4:30 PM to say that I had finally gotten a message back from Lee and Heather and was optimistic we could reach a solution so the booth would not be taken down that evening.

I wanted to resolve everything before my presentation on Friday afternoon, where I was either going to do normal Q&A as planned or present the case for what WP Engine has done wrong. Heather and Lee responded to my text messages, but refused to get on a call or reach any sort of verbal understanding with me, and so I delivered the presentation. I was calling both backstage literally minutes before I got on, trying to avoid this entire scenario.

WP Engine has now filed formal legal action against WordPress.org, myself, Automattic, and we are doing the same against them, so I may not be able to comment on this too much in the future.”

Reactions To Mullenweg’s Post

As if this moment there has been no public announcement by WP Engine. Some Redditors in that discussion were incredulous that Mullenweg put a deadline of that afternoon to finalize a solution with WP Engine.

One Redditor posted:

“What could possibly be resolved in a few hours at a conference? Were they to change their name and cut a fat check that day?”

Mullenweg responded:

“They have been stringing things along for years, it appears their main strategy is just to delay resolution while they continue their bad behavior, printing cash.”

This is a developing story, more will be added as it becomes known.

Read Mullenweg’s post:

To be very clear, I was 100% cordial and polite to everyone at the booth

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators

WordPress Co-Founder Mullenweg Sparks Backlash via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress.org content management system and CEO of Automattic, ended a successful WordCamp USA conference with a poorly received keynote that sharply criticized a prominent managed WordPress web host. The overwhelming response was negative toward his statements and a subsequent blog post that continued his combative remarks.

The response on social media to his speech and blog post was so immense that at one point “WordPress” was the number one trending topic on X (formerly Twitter).

This article doesn’t take sides, it’s only reporting what was said and the general response to it.

What Happened

WordPress is built on the idea of a worldwide community working together to create an open source system for publishing ideas. It is responsible for the creation of perhaps millions of jobs, enabled countless ecommerce companies to sell online and created multiple markets and services that would not otherwise exist, all of it built on the idea of community.

WordCamp is the physical manifestation of the WordPress community, a conference organized by volunteers that enables WordPress users at every level to meet and exchange ideas. It’s ordinarily an uplifting and inspirational event which is why nobody was prepared for the bombshell that would close the week of events beginning on September 17th and ending on the 20th.

It’s not that there weren’t hints. Matt Mullenweg published a blog post on the first day of the conference that begins on a cheerful note then becomes progressively darker.

He begins by praising the community that powers WordPress and is responsible for WordCamp:

“If you ever have a chance to visit a WordCamp, I recommend it. It’s an amazing group of people brought together by this crazy idea that by working together regardless of our differences or where we came from or what school we went to we can be united by a simple yet groundbreaking idea: that software can give you more Freedom.”

Mullenweg then criticized Meta as “disingenuously” claiming to participate in the open source movement and then praised companies that give back to the open source WordPress community as part of the Five for the Future program (in which companies are encouraged to put 5% back into growing the WordPress platform).

He then openly criticized WP Engine for not contributing enough.

The amounts that companies are giving back to WordPress is the ax that Mullenweg was swinging in his conference closing keynote on Friday, specifically calling out WP Engine by name.

Ending A Conference On A Low Note

Mullenweg stated that there are some companies that use up resources without giving back, following up by pointing a finger at WP Engine for only sponsoring 40 hours per week of work toward improving the WordPress core.

He said:

“And there are those that treat open source simply as a resource to extract from its natural surroundings, like oil from the grounds, a finite resource, something to be extracted and used.

…a lot of this information that I’m sharing with you all has come from WP engine employees who’ve reached out to me and and talked to me about all this. So thank you all for being brave and for sharing this information that you think your company is doing something wrong.

WP Engine has good people, some of whom are listed on that page, but the company is controlled by Silver Lake, a private equity firm with 102 billion in assets under management. Silver Lake doesn’t give a dang about your open source ideals, it just wants return on capital.”

Matt Mullenweg then took the step of encouraging the WordPress community to find a different web host. He didn’t directly name WP Engine or call for a boycott, but the meaning of his words were not lost on the audience, given that he just accused WP Engine of not giving “a dang about …open source ideals.”

He said:

“So it’s at this point that I ask everyone in the WordPress community to go vote with your wallet. Who are you giving your money to? Someone who is going to nourish the ecosystem or someone is going to frack every bit of value out of it until it withers?”

Followed a minute later with:

“Think about that next time it comes up to renew your hosting or domain. Weigh your dollars towards companies that give back more…

Those of us who are makers who curate the source need to be wary of those who take our curations and squeeze out the juice. They’re grifters who will hop on to the next fad.”

Mullenweg said that he tried to speak with them beforehand but couldn’t get through.

Shocked Audience Sides With WP Engine

Near the end of his keynote, Mullenweg commented about a potential ban on WP Engine at future WordCamps was met with a surprising silence from the audience, with only a few applauding.

Matt Cromwell, co-Founder of GiveWP, tweeted:

“No one I spoke with at #wcus sympathized with @photomatt’s take on @wpengine’s contributions to WP.

One thing is clear: if you want to encourage more contributions to WP don’t light contributors on fire on stage. There’s more to the story between A8C and Silver Lake than we know”

Someone else tweeted:

“I didn’t know how to feel after the public shaming of WP Engine by Matt today. I tried to see both sides….and I felt upset at WP Engine & at Matt at the same time.

After seeing what transpired the hours since on X, I believe it was wrong to call out WP Engine and believe this did more harm. “

Another wrote:

“I work very closely with @WPEngine in my day job. They’ve got some fantastic people over there, and are doing many different things to further WordPress in many different ways.

And I will continue to work with them happily.”

Mullenweg Doubles Down

Mullenweg’s keynote wasn’t the end of his negative criticism. On Saturday he published an article on the official WordPress.org blog that amplified the remarks from his keynote that also generated a largely negative response on social media, with some on X and Facebook even calling for him to step down.

Mullenweg wrote:

“I spoke yesterday at WordCamp about how Lee Wittlinger at Silver Lake, a private equity firm with $102B assets under management, can hollow out an open source community. Today, I would like to offer a specific, technical example of how they break the trust and sanctity of our software’s promise to users to save themselves money so they can extract more profits from you.”

The rest of the blog post gets worse.

Backlash Overwhelmingly Against Mullenweg

One of the cleverest responses is published on WPHercules website which is word for word copy of Mullenweg’s article but with the words WP Engine replaced with WordPress.com (the managed WordPress hosting service), titled WordPress.com Is Not WordPress.org

WordPress agency owner Kevin Geary wrote in a blog response:

“This wasn’t my first WordCamp, but I legitimately felt bad for first-timers. Imagine an awesome and uplifting week ending like the Payback scene in The Sum of All Fears… A little awkward.

…Matt has presumably attempted diplomacy multiple times in different ways over the years as he passed that collection plate around, but without great success when it comes to WP Engine.

The question now becomes, is public ridicule and shame a valid approach? And should this ridicule and shame get delivered in the closing talk at a WordCamp?”

A WordPress community member tweeted that the post “ridiculous and completely unnecessary” and that WP apparently stands for “We’re petty.”

A negative tweet that is representative of the general mood:

“It’s been concerning for a few years now – at least for me. I don’t think a CEO should attack people/corps based on personal opinions, no matter if right or wrong. Not good for the WordPress ecosystem tbh. Agree?”

Another member of the WordPress community tweeted:

“When I go to an event or trade show, I do not assume the organizers support or endorse every vendor.

I also don’t expect them to criticize any vendor publicly at the event.”

Another tweet:

• “Congrats on embarrassing yourself and alienating the #WordPress community to close out #WCUS!
• Truly inspirational.”

And another:

“There’s been talk of the “existential” threat to WordPress’ standing for a number of years. Now it’s crystal clear that Matt is that existential threat.”

Targeting Of WP Engine Perceived As Unfair

This article isn’t taking sides, it’s only reporting what was said and how the WordPress community responded.

Some background information for those who may not be aware is that WP Engine is a managed web host that voluntarily contributes to the development of WordPress core, supports WordCamp and develops free plugins enjoyed by millions of WordPress publishers such as Advanced Custom Fields, LocalWP, WPGraphQL, Better Search Replace, and WP Migrate Lite.

The backlash on social media is firmly against Matt Mullenweg, including in the private Facebook group Dynamic WordPress (registration required) where a discussion generated over 100 posts. One member of the group who attended WordCamp remarked on the shocked faces of WordCamp attendees and more than one person wrote “Matt needs to go!” as others sympathized with WP Engine.

Watch Mullenweg’s keynote at the 7:08:25 minute mark ( 7 hour, 8 minute, 25 seconds):

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Krakenimages.com