Judge Prevents WordPress from Restricting WP Engine Access

The ongoing dispute between WordPress parent company Automattic and WP Engine has seen a favorable ruling for WP Engine. California District Court judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has granted an injunction stopping Automattic from hindering WP Engine’s access to resources on WordPress.org and from interfering with its plugins.

“Although the Defendants claim that the harm experienced by WP Engine is self-inflicted due to its business operations on a platform it had no legal right to use… the Defendants’ involvement in amplifying this damage through their recent targeted actions solely against WPEngine, as opposed to any other competitor, is significant,” the judge stated.

The background of the issue. Matt Mullenweg, a founder of WordPress, has publicly raised concerns about trademark issues, accusing WP Engine of improperly profiting from these trademarks while leading consumers to believe in a formal connection with WordPress. A series of cease and desist letters were exchanged before WP Engine took legal action against Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging extortion.

Our concern. Many marketing and news organizations depend on WordPress, which remains the leading player in the CMS landscape. Any developments that complicate the content creation process are unfortunate. Mullenweg has not yet commented on the ruling on his blog, but we will monitor any updates.

Learn more: WordPress seeks to restrict WP Engine’s access to its resources