On Friday, WordPress maker Automattic filed its counterclaims in the lawsuit initiated by hosting company WP Engine in October 2024 , which had accused Automattic and its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, of defamation and abuse of power. Automattic believes that WP Engine has been abusing the WordPress trademark and has engaged in deceptive marketing practices, without properly giving back to the open source community.

As a result, Automattic took action against WP Engine last year, which included calling the hosting provider a “cancer to WordPress” and sending it a cease-and-desist letter claiming WP Engine had breached its trademark usage rules. As the battle continued, Automattic banned WP Engine from accessing WordPress.org resources and attempted to negotiate a licensing

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