WordPress CEO and Automattic co-founder Matt Mullenweg has expressed relief after the dismissal of 159 employees following his efforts to compel competitor WP Engine to license trademarks he has been using for years.
Mullenweg believes that WP Engine, a WordPress-Site hosting company, does not adequately support the WordPress community while benefiting from open source software. He proposed a license agreement to WP Engine, requiring the company to pay 8% of Automattic’s gross monthly income or allocate developers’ time to WordPress development.
However, WP Engine, backed by Silver Lake venture fund, refused to agree to these terms, claiming the use of trademarks was legal. This disagreement led to public disputes, mutual accusations, and the temporary blocking of theme and plugin updates on WP Engine sites via WordPress.org. Mullenweg later lifted the block to allow WP Engine to set up its update server.
In response to the conflict with WP Engine, Mullenweg filed a Federal lawsuit against WP Engine, accusing them of extortion, slander, unfair competition, and other offenses. The legitimacy of managing the WordPress trademark, transferred to a non-profit fund in 2010, is also questioned. Mullenweg, as the fund’s director, is suspected of tax report violations and concealing the transfer of trademark rights.
Automattic denies all accusations, deeming the claims “baseless”. Mullenweg offered a “redemption package” to employees who disagreed with his actions, providing compensation equivalent to $30,000 or six months’ salary, whichever is higher.
As a result, 159 employees, constituting 8.4% of the total workforce, accepted the offer and left the company. Most of the departing employees were part of units linked to the WordPress ecosystem. Mullenweg quoted Churchill in response to the departures, stating, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
This conflict highlights the fine line between protecting community interests and abusing power in the open-source software world. It serves as a reminder that personal ambitions and corporate interests can sometimes overshadow the collaborative ideals on which projects are built.
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