A lawsuit has been filed by hosting provider WP Engine against Automattic and WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, alleging extortion and abuse of power. The dispute arose from disagreements over trademark infringement and contributions to the WordPress community.
WP Engine claims that promises made by Automattic and Mullenweg to maintain open-source projects were not upheld, impacting developers’ freedom to create, modify, and distribute software.
The company stated, “Matt Mullenweg’s recent actions have revealed conflicts of interest and governance issues that threaten the trust within the WordPress community. WP Engine is pursuing legal action to protect its stakeholders and the broader community.”
A court document filed in California also alleges that Mullenweg has a history of misleading statements regarding his control of WordPress Foundation and WordPress.org.
Recent Events
The dispute intensified when Mullenweg accused WP Engine of trademark infringement, leading to a back-and-forth of cease-and-desist letters. He also restricted WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org resources temporarily.
Automattic proposed a licensing agreement requiring WP Engine to pay royalties for using WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks, but WP Engine rejected the terms, including restrictions on plugin forking.
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