WordCamps are now enforcing stricter WordPress trademark compliance, with WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Mary Hubbard personally vetting all sponsors as part of Automattic’s crackdown on unauthorized commercial use of the mark.

The new sponsorship approval process, introduced in late November 2024 and announced on February 1, requires sponsors to fully comply with the WordPress trademark policy in addition to meeting GPL guidelines.

In an announcement on the Make WordPress Community blog, WordPress Community Team Program Manager Timi Wahalahti said companies must remove terms like “WordPress hosting” and unauthorized WordPress logo usage from their websites and marketing materials before being approved for sponsorship.

Wahalahti acknowledged that the new process had significantly delayed sponsorship payments, which event organizers rely on to confirm support for their WordCamps. He said efforts were underway to speed up approvals.

“We, the program managers, understand organizers’ frustrations with the process and are working to improve it. We know how vital sponsors are and how important their support is for WordPress events,” he said.

To streamline approvals, program managers are now bundling sponsor applications and submitting them for leadership review once a week.

“We hope this, along with increased transparency about the recent changes, alleviates some of the pressure event organizers have been under. These changes should have been communicated earlier,” Wahalahti said.

Hubbard told The Repository that she recognized the need to enforce the WordPress marks when she started her role in November.

“The stricter enforcement of WordPress trademarks in the sponsor review process isn’t actually new—it’s part of a broader effort that started in November to improve clarity and compliance for WordCamp sponsors,” Hubbard said.

“That said, rolling out changes like this takes time. We wanted to make sure we were working with existing sponsors, gathering feedback, and ensuring a smooth transition before reinforcing these expectations more publicly. 

“The recent /make announcement wasn’t about introducing new rules—it was about making sure everyone is aware of the expectations moving forward. Trademark enforcement is an ongoing process, and we want to make it as transparent and fair as possible.”

In response to community concerns about trademark enforcement, Hubbard said an FAQ and updates to the WordPress trademark policy would be published in the coming days to clarify expectations for companies and sponsors.

“The big thing to avoid is using ‘WordPress’ in product names, services, or branding in a way that could imply an official connection or endorsement,” Hubbard said. “‘WordPress Hosting’ was called out specifically because it’s a common phrase in the industry that ties a business offering directly to the WordPress brand. To use the mark commercially requires a license, and WPF (the WordPress Foundation) only has the rights to use the mark in a non-commercial manner.”

WordPress Foundation expands protected marks

Project leadership’s trademark enforcement efforts coincide with the foundation’s move to expand its trademark policy to include the phrases “Hosted WordPress” and “Managed WordPress.” The foundation filed trademark applications for the two phrases in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, in July 2024.

The U.S. applications hit a snag on February 4 when the examining attorney advised the foundation that it must submit trademark disclaimers for each of the applications, using the phrasing: “No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘MANAGED/HOSTED’ apart from the mark as shown.”

A trademark disclaimer clarifies what a trademark owner owns and what competitors can and can’t use. In most cases, a disclaimer applies only to a portion of a mark, not the entire mark. For example, if a company’s name is “Damn Fine Coffee” and they sell coffee, they must disclaim the word “coffee.” This means competitors can use the word “coffee” but can’t use the phrase “Damn Fine Coffee.”

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hasn’t rejected the foundation’s applications, contrary to some online speculation. As the Patent Trademark Blog’s Vic Lin explains: “If a trademark examining attorney felt that a word mark was entirely unregistrable, a disclaimer would not be required. Instead, the entire mark would be rejected (e.g., for reasons such as incapability of functioning as a source identifier).”

Elsewhere, the mark “Hosted WordPress” was officially registered in the United Kingdom on February 7, while “Managed WordPress” remains in the opposition stage, allowing objections to its approval.

In the EU, applications with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) are also in the opposition period, which ends on March 24 for “Hosted WordPress” and March 25 for “Managed WordPress.” No formal oppositions have been filed so far.

In Australia, registration is pending for both marks after the opposition period expired this week. Applications for the marks are currently being examined in New Zealand and are awaiting examination in Canada.

Use of the WordPress marks came under scrutiny last September after Mullenweg called WP Engine a “cancer” to WordPress, accusing the hosting company and its private equity firm, Silver Lake, of profiting off WordPress and not contributing enough back.

Automattic went on to accuse WP Engine of violating the “WordPress” and “WooCommerce” trademarks in a cease and desist letter. The letter demanded that unathorized use of the marks cease and WP Engine pay compensation for lost licensing revenue, suggesting an 8% royalty on the company’s $400 million in annual revenue, an equivalent in contributions to the WordPress project, or a combination of both.

WP Engine responded by filing legal action against Automattic and Mullenweg, alleging trademark abuse, attempted extortion, and anti-competitive practices.

The WordPress Foundation owns and manages the trademarks for the WordPress name, logos, and related brands, and Automattic retains exclusive commercial rights to the trademarks.

In October, Mullenweg told The Repository that the 8% deal was off the table and he wanted more from WP Engine. It’s since been reported that Mullenweg is no longer seeking money because the hosting company has made extensive changes to its website.

“They have stopped violating the trademark. They have cleaned up,” Mullenweg told Computerworld in January. “To use someone else’s trademark, you typically license it. For more than 18 months, we were trying to do a deal there. They obviously never did one. I realized that they were just stringing me along.”

In October, TechCrunch reported that Automattic started crafting a plan to get significantly stricter about trademark enforcement across WordPress and WooCommerce since at least early 2024.