"While under private-equity ownership, WP Engine has abused the WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks and exploited the goodwill built over decades by Automattic and the WordPress Foundation. Automattic very clearly lays out its allegations about how a high-profile private equity firm made a bad bet and then inflated the value of WP Engine as a way to continue to collect management fees and to obscure their mistake."
"This story starts in September 2024, when Matt Mullenwegg, co-creator of the open source CMS WordPress, attacked a company called WP Engine that offers WordPress hosting services. Mullenweg is also CEO of a company called Automattic that also offers WordPress hosting services, and oversees WordPress.org - the home of the open source project that leads development of the CMS. Mullenweg accused WP Engine of profiting from WordPress without making appropriate contributions to the open source community."
Hostility escalated in September 2024 when Matt Mullenweg accused WP Engine of profiting from WordPress without sufficient open-source contributions. Automattic, which holds the WordPress trademark, demanded a license and restricted WP Engine's access to WordPress.org and plugin workflows, inconveniencing customers. Community members criticized restrictions and new WordPress.org rules limiting WP Engine sponsorships for user groups. The dispute moved to court, where WP Engine prevailed. Automattic later filed a 162-page counterclaim and alleged false advertising, deceptive business practices, trademark abuse, and that private-equity owners inflated WP Engine's value to mask losses. A judge or jury will now decide.
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