WP Engine has issued a cease and desist letter to Matt Mullenweg, demanding he stop making false, misleading, and disparaging statements, and cease using his position at WordPress.org to benefit his for-profit company, Automattic. The letter refutes Mullenweg’s public accusations and outlines his demands for tens of millions of dollars to avoid taking aggressive actions against WP Engine.
A screenshot of a text message from Mullenweg states:
“If you’re saying ‘next week’ that’s saying ‘no’, so I will proceed with the scorched earth nuclear approach to WPE.
Thank you for the clarity, it gives me time to work on things and hone my message.”
WP Engine Cease And Desist
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of the for-profit Automattic, posted on Reddit and in a Slack channel that WordPress had initiated litigation against WordPress and himself. It was later revealed that WP Engine had in fact filed a Cease and Desist request (C&D).
The C&D document, sent to the Automattic Chief Legal Officer, documents what it says are false factual statements, outlines a timeline of events, and rebuts Mullenweg’s allegations, accusations, and statements.
WP Engine makes four key demands:
1. Cease Making False Factual Statements Regarding WP Engine.
2. Cease Interfering with WP Engine’s Contractual Relationships With its Employees.
3. Cease Interfering with WP Engine’s Contractual Relationships With its Customers.
4. Preserve All Potentially Relevant Documents and Data.
Mullenweg Accused Of Serious Misconduct
Automattic is accused of “serious misconduct” toward WP Engine, claiming that Mullenweg threatened to take a “scorched earth nuclear approach” against WP Engine if it refused to agree to give Automattic tens of millions of dollars in cash by 4:30 PM.
When the deadline for an agreement was not met, the legal document states that Mullenweg publicly made disparaging remarks against WP Engine in front of a live audience, on YouTube, and on blog posts on the non-profit WordPress.org website.
The C&D alleges:
“…Mr. Mullenweg’s words and actions threaten to – and appear intended to – harm WP Engine’s business and reputation within the WordPress community and beyond, and tortiously interfere with WP Engine’s contractual relationships with its employees and customers.
Indeed, some WP Engine customers and community members have already expressed an intention to stop doing business with WP Engine due to Mr. Mullenweg’s misconduct…”
Allegations Shared On Virtually All WordPress Site Admin Panels
Mullenweg’s posts were shared with millions of WordPress publishers worldwide through links displayed in the admin panels of every WordPress site.
Screenshot Of A WordPress Admin Panel
WP Engine’s C&D accuses Mullenweg of abusing his unique position as both the CEO of a competitor (Automattic, Inc.) and as a director at the non-profit WordPress.org which produces the open-source WordPress content management system.
The document states:
“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:
1. Encouragement of WordPress users to switch away from WP Engine.
2. Suggesting that WP Engine is retaliatory towards its employees.
3. Accusing WP Engine of misusing the trademarks.
4. Accusing WP Engine investors of not caring about open source.
5. Suggesting that WP Engine may be retaliatory against its 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 members 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
