WordPress faces a significant legal blow.

WordPress.com faced a significant legal setback when a judge from the California District Court ordered it to cease blocking WP Engine's access to resources from WordPress.org and its plugins. This decision comes after a complaint filed by WP Engine, a third-party WordPress hosting service, which accused Automattic and its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, of causing "multiple forms of immediate irreparable harm." The lawsuit also requested the court to prevent Mullenweg from restricting WP Engine's access to WordPress.org.

Tensions escalated when Mullenweg launched a public campaign against WP Engine in September, stating that the service misrepresented the WordPress brand and inadequately contributed to the community. After blocking WP Engine's access to the WordPress.org servers, Automattic took control of WP Engine’s ACF plugin. In her ruling, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín acknowledged that WP Engine presented sufficient evidence that Automattic's actions harmed their business relationships, highlighting that Mullenweg's "conduct was intended to induce a breach or disruption."

Refuting Automattic’s argument that blamed WP Engine for relying on WordPress.org for its business model, the judge concluded that Automattic's influence could not be ignored, noting that the defendants' actions contributed to damages for WP Engine without affecting other competitors. The ruling stated that WP Engine proved it would suffer irreparable harm without appropriate injunctive relief, which would also impact the WordPress community.

In response to the decision, WP Engine issued a statement on X expressing gratitude for the preliminary injunction restoring access and functionality to WordPress.org for them, their clients, and users, emphasizing that this ruling is essential for the stability of the WordPress ecosystem.