Status of the Automattic and WP Engine Dispute

January 2025 Status of the Automattic and WP Engine Dispute

The dispute between Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, and WP Engine, a managed WordPress hosting provider, has evolved over recent months. Initially, Automattic restricted WP Engine's access to WordPress.org resources, including plugin and theme repositories, citing trademark infringements and insufficient contributions to the WordPress ecosystem. This action impacted WP Engine customers' ability to update and install plugins and themes directly from their WordPress dashboards.

In response, WP Engine filed a lawsuit against Automattic and its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, alleging libel and extortion. Subsequently, in December 2024, a California District Court issued a preliminary injunction requiring Automattic to restore WP Engine's access to WordPress.org resources, acknowledging that the restrictions harmed WP Engine's business relationships.

Despite the court's intervention, tensions persisted. Automattic reduced its contributions to the WordPress open-source project, attributing the decision to the resources consumed by ongoing legal battles with WP Engine and criticism from the community.

As of January 2025, while WP Engine's access to WordPress.org resources has been legally reinstated, the broader dispute remains unresolved. For website owners hosting on WP Engine, it's advisable to stay informed about developments in this dispute, as ongoing tensions could potentially affect service stability and access to WordPress resources. Regularly monitoring official communications from both WP Engine and WordPress.org will help ensure that you can take timely action to mitigate any risks to your website's performance and security.