“Mr. Mullenweg’s statements also reflect a clear abuse of his conflicting roles as both (1) the Director of the non-profit WordPress Foundation, and (2) the CEO of at least two for-profit businesses that compete with WP Engine.
…Mr. Mullenweg’s covert demand that WP Engine hand over tens of millions to his for-profit company Automattic, while publicly masquerading as an altruistic protector of the WordPress community, is disgraceful.”
List Of Disparaging Remarks Against WP Engine
WP Engine’s C&D documents all the remarks Mullenweg made:
Encouragement of WordPress users to switch away from WP Engine
Suggesting that WP Engine is retaliatory towards its employees
Accusing WP Engine of misusing the trademarks
Accusing WP Engine investors of not caring about open source
Suggesting that WP Engine may be retaliatory against own employees
WP Engine’s C&D rebuts every allegation by Mullenweg, addressing each instance point by point.
Among the rebuttals:
Rebuttal Of Accusation That WP Engine Contributes Little
“Even considering Mr. Mullenweg’s incorrect statement that contribution is only based on hours worked and contributors to Five for the Future, Mr. Mullenweg falsely stated that WP Engine is failing on this metric. In reality, WP Engine is ranked 30 out of 189 in hours contributed and 16 out of 189 in contributors, significantly outpacing multiple other contributors relative to our revenue.”
Rebuttal Of Trademark Misuse
“WP Engine’s use of “WP” is explicitly permitted by WordPress Foundation’s trademark policy:
‘The abbreviation ‘WP’ is not covered by the WordPress trademarks and you are free to use it in any way you see fit.’
Moreover, WP Engine’s use of the WordPress mark is entirely compliant with governing trademark law. For more than a decade, WP Engine has fairly used that term to describe its services, as other members of the WordPress ecosystem do.”
Speculation Of WP Engine Retaliation
“Is not just false and wholly unsubstantiated – it is also absurd.”
What’s Next?
The next move appears to be up to Mullenweg. Many member’s of the WordPress community have already expressed surprise about what Mullenweg did and some on Reddit are calling for Mullenweg to step down.
Screenshot Of Call For Mullenweg To Step Down
Read the official Cease and Desist here (PDF).
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Roman Samborskyi