I think that you are misinterpreting the spec, see "PLT 8.4. Custom Porlet Modes" Portlet Modes are defined by the *portal vendor*. If Websphere decided to add a portlet mode, that portlet mode would not work in any other portal vendor. request.getPorletMode() returns the correct value, the declared mode has to match a mode known by the porlal vendor. But this is out of scope of the current forum thread. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=3982013#... Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&a...