Automattic’s Trademark Crusade

Automattic tightening its grip on the WordPress trademark feels like the end of an era. I think back to the early days when WordPress felt like this open, free, and creative space.

Now? It's lawyers. "Nice and not nice" ones.

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And that's the part that sticks out to me, the aggression of it all. Maybe it's the evolution of any big project. But there's something off about the way Automattic's handling this.

It's not about trademarks anymore, it's about control.

The cease-and-desist letters, the trademark applications for "Managed WordPress" and "Hosted WordPress." This is a huge shift, especially for a company that had always been sort of a community steward.

Mullenweg indeed made it clear Automattic was "upgrading a lot of our legal team." But it's hard not to feel like something essential is being lost. When a community starts to mix with aggressive business strategies, it becomes an entirely different thing. For the worse, might I add.

I just wonder what the long-term ramifications for the WordPress ecosystem are going to be. We're not talking about WP Engine alone here, it's the message this conveys. What does that mean for smaller players? Those contributors that shaped the platform are now, what, on the outside?

It makes me a little nervous about the direction this takes.