Court Orders Automattic to Restore WP Engine’s Access to WordPress.org
A California judge grants WP Engine a preliminary injunction, requiring Automattic to reverse actions that disrupted WP Engine's operations and access to vital WordPress tools.
- The court ruled that Automattic and CEO Matt Mullenweg must restore WP Engine's access to WordPress.org and its Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin within 72 hours.
- The injunction also mandates the removal of a controversial login checkbox on WordPress.org that required users to confirm no affiliation with WP Engine.
- Automattic must delete a list of WP Engine customers hosted on a website it created to track client departures from WP Engine.
- The legal dispute stems from Mullenweg’s allegations that WP Engine misused the WordPress trademark and failed to contribute to the open-source community, contrasted by WP Engine's claims of extortion and abuse of power.
- The ruling emphasizes the public interest in maintaining stability in the WordPress ecosystem, which supports over 40% of websites globally.
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