They laid out this big plan involving legal action talks with other companies and even looking at trademark registrations.
Fast forward to July the WordPress Foundation went ahead and filed for trademarks on “Managed WordPress” and “Hosted WordPress” which showed that Automattic was changing up their approach to safeguarding the WordPress project. They’re also making sure that their WooCommerce platform, which is like Shopify’s competitor, has the same level of protection for its brand.
This feud with WP Engine is making everyone wonder about how trademarks are enforced and what the WordPress Foundation is doing in all of this né?. Automattic is showing just how dedicated they are to protecting their trademarks and their recent legal moves prove they’re all in when it comes to making sure the WordPress project stays true to itself.
The heart of the matter between Mullenweg and WP Engine is still all about trademark breaches, with Automattic making it clear that they need to enforce the rules to keep their brands looking sharp. Automattic is being super clear about how they’re the only ones who can use the “WordPress” trademark and how important it is to them to keep that branding safe.
Automattic isn’t just looking out for WordPress either. The foundation has been holding onto the WordPress trademark since 2010, making sure the project stays on track.
This whole mess with WP Engine is really shining a light on the clash in the WordPress world between working together on open source projects and businesses trying to make money. Matt Mullenweg, one of the folks who started WordPress and the big boss at Automattic, has been caught up in a very public and legal scuffle with WP Engine over using the WordPress trademark and unsettled fees. Mullenweg’s talk hints at more moves to beef up the legal side of things and keep the trademarks safe.
. Things really heated up when WP Engine came back with their own legal demands.
The whole thing started earlier this year when Automattic put out a post in January 2024 talking about how they were getting serious about enforcing their trademarks across all things WordPress and WooCommerce
