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WP Engine has filed for an injunction in a Northern California court, urging judicial intervention to regain access to the WordPress.org open-source repository. The filing comes after a contentious dispute with Matt Mullenweg, co-creator of WordPress and founder of Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com.
The conflict escalated after WP Engine sued Mullenweg and Automattic last month, leading Mullenweg to block the company’s access to WordPress.org. WP Engine is now seeking to reverse this decision through the court, reports TechCrunch.
The WP Engine’s Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin is central to the dispute, a widely used tool that allows developers to create and customise edit screens on WordPress. After blocking WP Engine’s access, Mullenweg transferred control of ACF to WordPress, citing developer guidelines. Under these guidelines, WordPress administrators can modify a plugin without developer consent “in the name of public safety.”
In the filing, WP Engine requests the court to restore the status quo as it existed before Mullenweg’s controversial actions on September 20, 2024. The company says that by blocking access to WordPress.org, Automattic has disrupted its operations, and employees and customers are affected.
“WP Engine respectfully requests that the Court issue a preliminary injunction restoring and preserving the status quo as it existed prior to Defendants’ wrongful actions,” the court document reads. WP Engine also noted that granting the injunction would have no negative impact on Mullenweg or Automattic, as it seeks to undo recent changes simply.
Heather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine, submitted a separate declaration alongside the injunction filing, expressing her surprise at the current situation. Brunner said she had previously believed that WordPress.org was owned by the non-profit WordPress Foundation, not directly controlled by Automattic.
Automattic has fired back, dismissing WP Engine’s claims as “gross mischaracterization of reality.” A spokesperson of the company stated, “Automattic is confident in our legal position and will vigorously litigate against this baseless filing, as well as pursue all remedies against WP Engine.”
The feud started over the WordPress trademark and soon escalated to legal battles. Matt Mullenweg offered a severance package to his employees who disagreed with the company’s current approach. At first, 159 Automattic employees took the deal. Later, Mullenweg proposed another deal, offering a nine-month buyout package to employees.
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