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A comment on Mullenweg threatens corporate takeover of WP Engine. Parent comment

Re:Mullenweg threatens corporate takeover of WP Engine by tptacek on Tuesday October 01, 2024 @07:51PM (#41715704)
Again you're claiming it was "sudden", but it does not appear to have been sudden. Meanwhile: nobody seems to deny that WPE could simply use WordPress's OSS software assets to stand up their own services, including Mullenweg. But that's all open source gets you. It doesn't entitle you to trademarks or online services!
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Re:Mullenweg threatens corporate takeover of WP Engine by infamia on Tuesday October 01, 2024 @10:14PM (#41716586)
> Again you're claiming it was "sudden", but it does not appear to have been sudden.

It was definitely sudden, just last week the term "WP" was explicitly allowed in Wordpress' Trademark Policy. This issue isn't really trademarks, it is just a club.

"The abbreviation “WP” is not covered by the WordPress trademarks and you are free to use it in any way you see fit."

https://web.archive.org/web/20240924024555/https://wordpress...

> But that's all open source gets you. It doesn't entitle you to trademarks

Unless you're Mullenweg, who has abused the Wordpress trademark for years via wordpress.com. I greatly respect his years of work and dedication. However, the ends do not justify the means.

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Re:Mullenweg threatens corporate takeover of WP Engine by tptacek on Tuesday October 01, 2024 @10:48PM (#41716709)
No, he hasn't. Automattic's contributions back to the WordPress foundation dwarf those of WPE's. He gave a whole interview spelling out what other companies do to get access to commercial use of those trademarks. He wasn't even demanding parity with Automattic.
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Re:Mullenweg threatens corporate takeover of WP Engine by ValentineC on Wednesday October 02, 2024 @12:19AM (#41717126)
I'd like to point out that the WordPress Foundation is merely the entity that owns the trademark, then gave ("for good and valuable consideration" [1]) an exclusive, perpetual, and irrevocable licence for commercial use of it to Automattic.

The WordPress project is not the foundation. The WordPress dot org website isn't under the foundation either (it's owned and run by Matt [2]), and should be considered separate from the project.

I think most contributors outside Automattic want to contribute to the project and its surrounding community, not WordPress dot org.

[1] https://tsdr.uspto.gov/caseviewer/assignments?caseId=7882673...

[2] https://x.com/photomatt/status/1840980359673995362

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