The lawsuit over WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org was still active as of the latest reviewed ruling, issued September 24, 2026. The federal case is not formally titled a lawsuit between WordPress.org and WP Engine: WP Engine, Inc. is the plaintiff, and Automattic Inc. and other defendants are named in the case. The court had earlier granted WP Engine limited preliminary relief, later dismissed one extortion claim, and allowed antitrust claims to proceed past the pleading stage. None of those rulings decides the whole case.
Who is suing whom?
The federal case caption names WP Engine, Inc. as plaintiff and Automattic Inc. and related defendants as defendants. WordPress.org is central to the access dispute, but it is not shorthand for the named plaintiff. The court describes WordPress as free, open-source software for building and maintaining websites, and WordPress.org as a host for WordPress software and community plugins. The December 2024 court order also recounted a declaration by WordPress co-founder Matthew Mullenweg stating that more than 40% of websites then in operation ran on WordPress; that is a historical figure in the court record, not a current independent measurement. December 10, 2024 preliminary-injunction order.
What is the dispute about?
In its pleadings, WP Engine alleged that Automattic and others restricted its access to WordPress.org, made changes affecting its plugins, imposed licensing demands, and engaged in anticompetitive conduct. Those are allegations, not established facts. The case also includes a trademark dispute: Automattic’s October 2025 explanation says its counterclaims accuse WP Engine of trademark misuse, deceptive branding, and failing to honor community commitments. Those, too, are Automattic’s claims, not court findings. Automattic’s October 2025 explanation.
What did the court decide?
December 10, 2024: limited preliminary relief
The Northern District of California granted WP Engine’s motion for a preliminary injunction, with modifications. The order restrained specified interference with WP Engine’s access to wordpress.org, control of certain hosted plugins and extensions, and certain changes to WP Engine plugins on WordPress installations without express request or consent. This was provisional relief while the case continued, not a final judgment on the merits. Read the preliminary-injunction order.
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June 5, 2026: discovery disputes
A discovery order granted some requests and denied others. Discovery rulings govern what information parties may obtain or how disputes are handled; they do not determine whether the underlying allegations are true. Read the June 5, 2026 discovery order.
September 24, 2026: motions to dismiss
The court dismissed WP Engine’s Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) extortion claim against the Automattic defendants without leave to amend, finding the pleaded extortion theory implausible under the applicable legal standard. That ruling disposed of that claim, not every factual dispute or claim in the case.
The court also held that WP Engine adequately alleged direct evidence of market power for its antitrust claims at this stage. Those claims survived a motion to dismiss; the court did not find that defendants had violated antitrust law. A pleading-stage ruling asks whether allegations can proceed, not whether they have been proved. Read the September 24, 2026 order on motions to dismiss.
What is each side’s account?
WP Engine’s allegations about access restrictions, plugin changes, licensing demands, and competitive conduct appear in the court’s account of the pleadings. The court’s assessment of one claim—the CFAA extortion theory—should not be mistaken for a ruling that every alleged event did or did not happen.
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Automattic’s August 2026 post offers the company’s account of a discovery-sanctions dispute and document collection. It reports Automattic’s own representations; it is not a neutral summary or a substitute for the court’s orders. Automattic’s August 2026 post.
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The September 2026 ruling left the case active. The antitrust claims that survived the dismissal motion remain unresolved, as do other issues not disposed of by that order. The court’s rulings to date include preliminary relief, discovery decisions, and a partial decision on the pleadings—not a final determination of liability. The reviewed record does not establish the eventual outcome or a trial date.
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