Keller's complaint against Automattic reveals a significant conflict regarding WordPress' trademark and the access to its ecosystem. WordPress, boasting over 40% of all websites, promised free access to its software. However, Automattic's actions against WPE, particularly blocking essential updates, have disrupted WPE's operations and its customers' experiences. Keller argues that Automattic's interference and attempts to attract WPE's customers constitute a betrayal of WordPress' foundational promise, leading to considerable inconvenience and loss for users relying on WPE for services.
WordPress software, Keller's complaint explained, "has long been promised to be free and available to everyone forever." This promise propelled WordPress' popularity to, by its own estimates, "encompass more than 40 percent of all websites in the world."
In the past few years, WPE's business has substantially grown, Keller explained, attracting big customers like Yelp, Thomson Reuters, and Dropbox, which otherwise may have paid WordPress for similar services.
Automattic's reneging on its promise to always provide free access is termed "an appalling deception" by the complaint and emphasizes the controversy surrounding access to WordPress' ecosystem.
Keller alleged that Automattic took steps to "poach" WPE customers, including sending emails to WPE customers "claiming they could restore access to the website if the WPE customer left WPE."
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