Automattic demanded a cut of WP Engine’s revenue before starting WordPress battle

Automattic, the genitor institution of WordPress.com, asked rival hosting work WP Engine to manus implicit 8 percent of its gross each period earlier igniting a precise nationalist battle implicit what you tin and can’t bash with an open-source project.

On Wednesday, Automattic published the projected deal that it sent to WP Engine connected September 20th. The connection lays out a seven-year statement that gives WP Engine the close to usage the WordPress trademark successful speech for a hefty payment. The 8 percent chopped could either beryllium paid arsenic a royalty interest to Automattic oregon arsenic salaries for WP Engine employees who would lend to the WordPress.org open-source project.

If WP Engine chose to wage a royalty fee, Automattic said it would publically property portion of its contributions to Five for the Future — a programme that encourages companies to dedicate 5 percent of resources to the WordPress.org task — “so the assemblage understands your committedness to the semipermanent flourishing of WordPress.”

On the different hand, choosing to lend 8 percent to WP Engine employees, would springiness WordPress.org and Automattic “full audit rights” and “access to worker records and time-tracking” astatine the company. The statement besides comes with a prohibition connected “forking oregon modifying” Automattic’s software, including plugins and extensions similar WooCommerce.

But WP Engine ne'er accepted this proposal, arsenic it believes its usage of the WordPress trademark and “WP” abbreviations conscionable just usage guidelines. Automattic has since scrapped the terms, citing “WP Engine’s behavior, deception, and incompetence.” The Verge reached retired to WP Engine with a petition for remark but didn’t instantly perceive back.

Automattic and WP Engine person been locked successful a nationalist quality implicit whether WP Engine tin usage WordPress.org’s open-source codification without contributing overmuch back. During the WordCamp league connected September 20th, Automattic and WordPress.com CEO Matt Mullenweg called retired WP Engine for failing to lend to the WordPress.org community. He threatened to instrumentality ineligible action unless WP Engine stopped its alleged usage of WordPress’s trademarks and branding.

WP Engine aboriginal sent a cease and desist order to Automattic, saying Mullenweg “embarked connected a bid of harassing substance messages and calls” to the company’s committee members and its CEO earlier his WordCamp keynote. However, Automattic calls this “one of the galore lies” successful WP Engine’s cease and desist bid and that it “asked for a verbal statement that WP Engine would springiness immoderate percent of their gross backmost into WordPress.”

WordPress.org, which Mullenweg besides leads, banned WP Engine from its servers connected October 1st, cutting disconnected entree to updates and plugins. WP Engine has since deployed its ain “solution” that volition let customers to proceed utilizing the hosting work normally.