Automattic was founded on a commitment to open source, and we have been dedicated to protecting that promise ever since. Our support of WordPress has helped democratize publishing and build a vibrant community—one that now powers tens of millions of websites.
WP Engine began providing hosting services for WordPress users in 2010, making largely nominative use of WordPress marks.
Unfortunately, we believe that 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.
In counterclaims filed today against WP Engine, 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. The counterclaims allege that they did it through several years of engaging in sustained trademark misuse, deceptive branding, and broken community commitments—actions that undermined the open source ecosystem on which its business depends.
This is not a fight Automattic sought out. We tried to resolve the tactics we saw WP Engine engaging in, which began after Silver Lake invested in the company. We watched them hollow out their “Five for the Future” pledge and exploit our trademarks. We increasingly heard from users who had been misled to think that WP Engine was WordPress and sought our help to resolve technical issues caused by WP Engine. To ensure that WordPress and the entire developer community continue to thrive, we took this action and will fight vigorously to end these abuses.
Automattic 