Speculation surrounds the reasons for Automattic's change of heart, with some insiders suggesting pressure or business reputation concerns. Additionally, Automattic is involved in a legal dispute with WP Engine, accusing the hosting company of benefiting from WordPress's open-source work without adequate contribution. Mullenweg argues that WP Engine should either pay a licensing fee or increase its contributions to the project. The legal battle has led to mutual lawsuits over trademark usage. Recently, Automattic laid off 16% of its staff to improve agility and productivity.
Key takeaways:
- Automattic is resuming its contributions to the WordPress project after a brief pause, aiming to support WordPress Core, Gutenberg, Playground, Openverse, and WordPress.org.
- Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg wants to release WordPress 6.9 this year, featuring an admin refresh and contributions from a new AI team.
- Speculation surrounds the reasons for Automattic's change of heart, with theories including business reputation concerns and ongoing litigation with WP Engine.
- Automattic is in a legal dispute with WP Engine over trademark usage and contribution levels to the WordPress project, with both companies suing each other.