2025 Conflict with WP Engine and WordPress and what it means for you

The conflict between WordPress.org and WP Engine centers on trademark usage, open-source contributions, and control over WordPress resources. We’ll review a quick timeline of events, and then my overview of both sides’ stories. And then, most importantly, how this effects everyday users of WordPress.

WP Engine & WordPress Conflict Time Line

Summary of the Issues

In September 2024, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg criticized WP Engine publicly at the US WordCamp and accused them of being a ‘cancer’ of WordPress.

For months afterwards, issues like trademarks, copyrights, control and libel were tossed back and forth through public discourse and the courts in California. (see the timeline above for links to the legal documents)

From what I can tell, the real issue is that WP Engine makes millions of dollars annually using WordPress but doesn’t contribute back to the software. They offer something like 45 sponsored hours of work per week. To compare, Automattic is a company that also sells WordPress hosting, and makes millions annually. They put 4,000 hours of staff time toward the WordPress project.

Mullenweg (admitted) wanted them to pay up – either in hours or cash – 8% of revenue. This is often set up legally using the licensing of the ‘WordPress’ trademark. This is not new – companies like Bluehost and GoDaddy already have these agreements with Matt’s company, Automattic.

As far as ‘donations’ and trademarks go – I believe that is the gist. Below is a more thorough look at how this works within the Open Source community.

The issues then got ugly as public court cases often do. I saw Matt in an interview in September when this first started, telling the listeners that his lawyers had warned him that the first thing WP Engine’s lawyers would do is a smear campaign. Whether rightly or wrongly, that has definitely happened.

Public perception of Automattic’s & Matt’s position has been overwhelmingly negative. There is a public outcry among some of the WordPress community to have him removed as leader.

How does one remove a leader that isn’t actually a ‘leader’ in an open source community? To understand that, you need to understand a few bits.

How WordPress (free) Works

What you need to know: WordPress is open source. “Open source” means that it is free to use and to change/edit as you like. Those who use and love it, contribute their time back to the project to make it better.

There is no requirement to give back to open source projects when one makes use of them. But to make the whole open source project sustainable, there is an unspoken rule that everyone who benefits commercially does their best to contribute in some way.

How does one ‘lead’ an open source project?

In 2003, Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little, edited an older open-source project. They created “WordPress” as we know it today.

In August 2005, Matt founded his own enterprise, Automattic. Automattic develops several software projects, and is most famous for a freemium service, WordPress.com, for which Automattic has the commercial use rights for WordPress trademarks.

In 2010, Matt Mullenweg founded a WordPress Foundation (non profit) to make sure that the project was always freely available per the GPL and that regardless of the contributors or people in it, the project itself would stay open source. It also owns and manages the trademarks, and supports community initiatives and education surrounding the project.

The foundation has sold the commercial use rights of the trademarks exclusively to Automattic. This means that if you want to use WP commercially, you need to get permission from Automattic (completely separate from the WordPress open source project).

Matt is on the board of directors for the Foundation and the owner of Automattic.

Although there is a distinct separation between Matt and the WordPress open source project, he has become synonymous for it. Which is made more fuzzy because Automattic has been extremely generous in the resources spent on the WordPress open source project – in fact, 4000 hours roughly per week are paid by Automattic and donated to the WP project.

Automattic runs wordpress.com – the hosting company that provides WordPress.com sites for free (with paid upgrades). So presumably, the better the WP open source project does, the better WordPress.com does. Kinda smart, if you ask me.

Why pick on WP Engine?

Matt claims that for years, they’ve had a conversation about donating back to the community. And that he’s been led along for years by promises that they will. So Matt set a deadline, threatening to criticize them publicly during his WordCamp US address, if they didn’t comply.

They did not comply.

WP Engine was publicly and thoroughly criticized by Matt Mullenweg, during his address at WordCamp US in September. He called them ‘a cancer’ in the ecosystem of WordPress.

After WP Engine continued to refuse to comply with Matt’s demands, the WordPress foundation (the non-profit that runs wordpress.org website), blocked WP Engine from the website, including the ability to download updates to WP itself, plugins or themes. This is technically allowed in their articles, although it has never happened before.

Several days later, and several cease and desist letters later, the Foundation also added a box to the public login screen that said something like “I am not affiliated with WP Engine” and it was required to enable login. Also to add injury, Matt created a website to track the number of people leaving WP Engine and moving to other platforms. (It has since been removed, as ordered by a judge).

Were these actions wise? Probably not. WP Engine is taking Automattic, and Matt to court to resolve the matter.

What this Dispute Means to You, the Regular User

This dispute has raised concerns within the WordPress community about governance, the balance between open-source principles and commercial interests, and the potential impact on users relying on these platforms.

WordPress.org is run by Matt Mullenweg as a personal project – to offer easily accessible resources for WP enthusiasts… this is not necessary. Strictly speaking, to be open source. the code has to be available to use and edit – which it is in a git repository (code database). A website is not necessary.

In short, you do not need to take action, yet, if ever.

A few new non-profits are popping up to ‘run their own WordPress’ software project. And they each are aiming to govern it differently from the current WordPress Foundation. Fortunately (or not depending on your view), it will be a long time before any group can compete the behemoth that is the WordPress project.

Currently WordPress runs nearly 40% of the internet, and 79% of all Content Management Systems. It would take millions of dollars and millions of people to switch providers for any other provider to come close to competing. And they would NEED to compete – because any fork (fork = a copy) of WordPress will need to be maintained by full time coders. I cannot see anyone coming close in the next 2-3 years, if ever.

What I hope happens, is that WP Engine plays nice with WP, recognizing the benefit that WP has been to their bottom line, and that Matt Mullenweg recognizes the error in his ways. Although… most of us would have done the same thing in his shoes, however, as a public figure he is (and should be) held to a higher standard. So I’m not raising my hand for public office anytime soon!

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