The ‘WordPress’ fight is now a lawsuit

The WP Engine web hosting work is suing WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic for alleged libel and attempted extortion, pursuing a nationalist spat implicit the WordPress trademark and open-source project. In the federal suit filed connected Wednesday, WP Engine accuses some Automattic and its CEO Mullenweg of “abuse of power, extortion, and greed,” and said it seeks to forestall them from inflicting further harm against WP Engine and the WordPress community.

WP Engine is simply a large rival to WordPress.com, with much than 200,000 websites utilizing the service. Mullenweg runs Automattic, which owns WordPress.com, a institution that sells a hosted mentation of the open-source WordPress bundle — conscionable similar WP Engine.

The suit was initiated aft a weeks-long combat implicit trademark infringement and whether WP Engine should wage licensing fees to usage the WordPress project’s open-source software. Mullenweg called WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress” on his blog, with WP Engine past sending a cease-and-desist letter asking for the comments to beryllium withdrawn. Automattic aboriginal alleged that WP Engine was infringing connected WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks, and demanded 8 percent of the company’s monthly revenue arsenic royalty payment.

In its lawsuit, WP Engine lists 11 complaints that impeach Mullenweg and Automattic of libel, slander, attempted extortion, and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. WP Engine besides claims that the WordPress Foundation — the non-profit enactment led by Mullenweg that backs the open-source WordPress project — failed to disclose its trademark ownership to the IRS, and accuses Mellenweg of making mendacious statements to the IRS.

“Matt Mullenweg’s behaviour implicit the past 10 days has exposed important conflicts of involvement and governance issues that, if near unchecked, endanger to destruct that trust,” WP Engine said successful a connection to TechCrunch. “WP Engine has nary prime but to prosecute these claims to support its people, bureau partners, customers, and the broader WordPress community.”