The brouhaha within the WordPress neighborhood seems to be prone to escalate right into a authorized battle round logos.
Only a day after WordPress internet hosting service WP Engine despatched a cease-and-desist discover to Automattic asking its CEO to cease publicly trashing WP Engine, now Automattic has despatched its personal cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, saying the latter has infringed a number of logos like WordPress and WooCommerce.
This comes after Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic and co-creator of WordPress, final week criticized WP Engine for profiteering off the open-source WordPress mission, referred to as it a “most cancers to WordPress,” and accused the corporate of contributing little or no to the neighborhood.
In its letter dated Monday, Automattic alleged that WP Engine has constructed a enterprise of over $400 million in income primarily based on unauthorized use of its WordPress trademark, which Automattic claims it has the unique business rights for from the WordPress Basis. Automattic additionally mentioned WP Engine has misled customers into believing that there’s a direct affliction between the 2 firms.
“Your unauthorized use of our Consumer’s logos infringes on their rights and dilutes their well-known and well-known marks. Adverse evaluations and feedback relating to WP Engine and its choices are imputed to our Consumer, thereby tarnishing our Consumer’s manufacturers, harming their fame, and damaging the goodwill our Consumer has established in its marks,” the letter learn.
“Your unauthorized use of our Consumer’s mental property has enabled WP Engine to compete with our Consumer unfairly, and has led to unjust enrichment and undue income,” it added.
Automattic can also be demanding compensation for the income made by WP Engine by utilizing its logos, and mentioned that if WP Engine doesn’t amicably resolve the matter, the corporate has the appropriate to file a civil injunction case.
For context, right here’s an excellent abstract of the WordPress neighborhood by my colleague Paul Sawers:
WordPress powers greater than 40% of the net, and whereas any particular person or firm is free to take the open supply mission and run a web site themselves, a variety of companies have sprung as much as promote internet hosting providers and technical experience off the again of it. These embody Automattic, which Mullenweg arrange in 2005 to monetize the mission he’d created two years earlier; and WP Engine, a managed WordPress internet hosting supplier that has raised almost $300 million in funding over its 14-year historical past, the majority of which got here by way of a $250 million funding from non-public fairness agency Silver Lake in 2018.
Within the cease-and-desist letter WP Engine despatched to Automattic on Monday, the corporate defended its proper to make use of the “WordPress” trademark below honest use legal guidelines. The corporate added that Automattic has “a profound misunderstanding of each trademark regulation and WordPress Basis’s trademark coverage.”
It additionally mentioned Mullenweg demanded WP Engine pay Automattic “a big share of its gross revenues — tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in reality — on an ongoing foundation” for a license to make use of logos like “WordPress.”
“When his outrageous monetary calls for weren’t met, Mr. Mullenweg carried out his threats by making repeated false claims disparaging WP Engine to its staff, its clients, and the world,” WP Engine’s letter mentioned.
Notably, Automattic’s letter doesn’t point out Mullenweg’s remarks about WP Engine.
Within the final week, Mullenweg has accused WP Engine of not contributing sufficient to the neighborhood and providing “an affordable knock-off” model of WordPress. WP Engine pushed again in opposition to this characterization and referred to as out Mullenweg for launching a smear marketing campaign in opposition to the corporate, saying it has already affected a few of its enterprise.
This is likely to be the beginning of an extended authorized tussle between the 2 entities. A number of people additionally identified that this battle is likely to be dangerous for suppliers providing specialised WordPress internet hosting.
Earlier at the moment, WordPress Basis modified its Trademark Coverage web page to name out WP Engine alleging the internet hosting service of complicated uesers.
“The abbreviation “WP” will not be lined by the WordPress logos, however please don’t use it in a approach that confuses folks. For instance, many individuals assume WP Engine is “WordPress Engine” and formally related to WordPress, which it’s not. They’ve by no means as soon as even donated to the WordPress Basis, regardless of making billions of income on high of WordPress,” the up to date web page reads.