Automattic has filed new counterclaims against hosting company WP Engine in a long-running dispute over the use of the WordPress and WooCommerce brands. Automattic manages WordPress.com and WooCommerce, among other things. It is also closely linked to the development of WordPress.
Automattic claims that since being acquired by investment firm Silver Lake, WP Engine has undermined the trust that has been built up over decades around WordPress and the open-source community. In the legal documents, Automattic alleges that WP Engine has artificially inflated the value of its business. WP Engine achieved this through prolonged trademark infringement and misleading branding.
The conflict has been ongoing since September 2024, when Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, publicly criticized WP Engine. He felt that the company was profiting too much from WordPress without contributing proportionally to the open-source project.
Shortly thereafter, WordPress.org, led by Mullenweg, restricted WP Engine’s access to parts of the platform, which affected the use of plugins and add-ons by WP Engine customers.
Division within the WordPress community
This approach led to division within the WordPress community. Several volunteers and developers expressed their dissatisfaction when WordPress.org introduced new rules prohibiting WP Engine sponsorship at local events and restricting what volunteers could say on social media.
Earlier in the dispute, WP Engine won a victory in court. Automattic is now attempting to overturn that earlier ruling with the new counterclaims. In the 162-page complaint, the company alleges that WP Engine exaggerated its contributions to the WordPress codebase, lowered the quality of its hosting services, and removed essential features, such as the ability for users to restore previous versions of pages. According to Automattic, these choices harmed users and undermined trust in the WordPress brand.
Automattic is also targeting Silver Lake. The investor allegedly used WP Engine after its 2018 acquisition to collect management fees and hide mistakes by inflating the company’s value.
Automattic is asking the court to find WP Engine guilty of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The company wants the court to prohibit WP Engine from using certain WordPress-related terms and to award damages. Automattic is also requesting that the case be heard by a jury.
According to The Register, WP Engine has not yet responded to the new complaint. In previous statements, the company has indicated that it operates within the bounds of fair use and supports the open-source principles of WordPress.