General Wordpress VS WP Engine

[Cpvr]

 

[Arantor]

This has been there since 2007. But it’s only now it’s being weaponised.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Cloudflare Blocks Automattic's WP Engine Tracker For Phishing

Automattic's WP Engine Tracker website blocked by Cloudflare for "suspected phishing"

www.searchenginejournal.com

Automattic, presumably under the direction of Matt Mullenweg, recently created a website called WP Engine Tracker on the WordPressEngineTracker.com domain name that lists how many WordPress sites have moved away from managed web host WP Engine. It also recommends web hosts that current customers can move to and offers a download of all domains that are hosted on WP Engine.

Interesting update!

 

[Arantor]

This just got absolutely wild.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/secure-custom-fields/ - this is ACF Pro (remember, owned by WPE), rebranded and put on the plugin site by WordPress.org itself.

And it is the pro version - it has features only the pro version has, but without the licence key requirement, and with the most minimal rebranding possible being done. They didn't even bother find/replace on ACF to SCF, and by removing the official copyright they also violate the GPL in so doing.

Good going, Matt, good going. WPE's lawyers are going to love you for this, as is the rest of the ecosystem that builds premium plugins/themes.

 

[Cpvr]

WP Engine Vs Automattic: Judge Inclined To Grant Preliminary Injunction​

• WP Engine's attorney on Mullenweg's $32M demand: "That's not how you calculate a royalty. That's how you set a ransom."
• Judge indicates she's leaning toward granting "some sort of injunction."
• Attorneys have until Tuesday, December 3, to present "dueling submissions," which will determine how the judge will rule.

WP Engine Vs Automattic: Judge Inclined To Grant Preliminary Injunction

Judge is inclined to grant preliminary injunction against Automattic, but WP Engine’s fight isn’t over yet

www.searchenginejournal.com

WP Engine had their day in court, but it didn’t go entirely in their favor, as Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled the request for a preliminary injunction was too vague. However, the judge said they were “inclined to grant some sort of injunction.”

An attorney who live blogged the hearing on Bluesky noted that the judge wasn’t up on the technical but commended her for asking a lot of questions.

“That’s How You Set A Ransom”​

The attorney for plaintiff offered new details about what happened behind the scenes on the day that Matt Mullenweg went “nuclear” on WP Engine at WordCamp USA. She first explained that Mullenweg’s demand for trademark license was a sham. Then showed how Mullenweg failed to enforce his trademark claim for fifteen years.

Among the new details was that Mullenweg’s demand for $32 million dollars was communicated in a one-page letter and that the agreement was for a seven year period that automatically renews “essentially forever.” She then revealed new details of how Mullenweg decided on the $32 million dollars, explaining that it was just “a number” that Mullenweg felt WP Engine was able to pay.

The point of this part of the plaintiff’s argument was to show that the royalty rate that Mullenweg was asking for was not based on any value of the mark but rather the rate was a figure that Mullenweg felt he was able to squeeze out of WP Engine, saying that the rate was “set in an extortionate manner.”