On Friday, WordPress.com maker Automattic filed its counterclaims within the lawsuit initiated by internet hosting firm WP Engine in October 2024, which had accused Automattic and its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, of defamation and abuse of energy. Automattic believes that WP Engine has been abusing the WordPress trademark and has engaged in misleading advertising practices, with out correctly giving again to the open supply group.
In consequence, Automattic took motion towards WP Engine final yr, which included calling the internet hosting supplier a “most cancers to WordPress” and sending it a cease-and-desist letter claiming WP Engine had breached its trademark utilization guidelines. Because the battle continued, Automattic banned WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org sources and tried to barter a licensing cope with the host. Automattic claims that the corporate strung it alongside, negotiating in dangerous religion.
WP Engine ultimately sued Automattic, portraying itself because the sufferer of Mullenweg’s assaults. However in Automattic’s telling of occasions, after the non-public fairness agency Silver Lake invested $250 million in WP Engine, it shifted from honest use to trademark infringement by calling itself “The WordPress Expertise Firm” and letting its companions consult with it as “WordPress Engine.”
Automattic notes that the internet hosting firm additionally launched merchandise with names like “Core WordPress” and “Headless WordPress,” and claimed to its clients that it had dedicated 5% of its sources to help the WordPress ecosystem. Automattic says it by no means saved these guarantees. Automattic alleges that the trademark infringement was deliberate, saying WP Engine solely “pretended to interact in licensing discussions, however truly delayed and negotiated in dangerous religion.”
Silver Lake performs a central position within the counterclaims, which indicate that the pursuits of the non-public fairness agency guided a lot of WP Engine’s conduct. Specifically, the counterclaims allege that WP Engine engaged in trademark violations as a result of paying licensing charges would affect the corporate’s earnings and valuation, and subsequently, Silver Lake’s anticipated return.
The counterclaims additionally allege that Silver Lake was searching for to dump WP Engine at a $2 billion valuation, however couldn’t discover a purchaser. Notably, the submitting says that this included “overtures to Automattic.”
Automattic additionally claims that WP Engine degraded the patron expertise and product high quality in an try to chop prices throughout this time by eradicating important options.
WP Engine responded to the counterclaims with the next assertion:
“WP Engine’s use of the WordPress trademark to consult with the open-source software program is per longstanding business follow and honest use beneath settled trademark legislation, and we’ll defend towards these baseless claims.”