- WP Engine claims Automattic went after 10 other companies for royalties
- Stripe has been approached to terminate its WP Engine contract, claims the hosting platform
- Automattic says this is simply an attempt to revive old complaints that were dismissed
WP Engine has filed a third update to its complaint against Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg, focusing on the WordPress brand and whether WP Engine contributes enough to the open source platform.
Mullenweg had previously demanded 8% of WP Engine’s monthly gross revenue as a royalty to use the WordPress brand on the grounds that it did not give enough to the open source platform, but WP Engine filed a lawsuit claiming abuse of power.
The latest update claims that Mullenweg also planned to target 10 other hosting companies with similar royalty demands.
WP Engine updates its complaint against Automattic
“WP Engine’s Third Amended Complaint contains new, unredacted information discovered during discovery that was previously sealed at Defendants’ request,” the hosting company wrote in a blog update.
The complaint states that Newfold Digital already pays Automattic for use of the trademark – the names of the other companies have been redacted.
WP Engine even alleges that Mullenweg attempted to pressure Stripe into canceling WP Engine’s payment processing contract after the lawsuit was filed.
In response, Automattic says the new filing is just an attempt to restate old allegations and that it is confident the courts will throw them out. “There is nothing new here. This is the same narrative that WP Engine has been pushing for over a year, and the Court has already rejected many of its key allegations,” added an Automattic spokesperson.
In November 2025, WP Engine requested the dismissal of counterclaims issued by Automattic, Matt Mullenweg, the WordPress Foundation and WooCommerce.
Previous updates include “new facts discovered during discovery” in a Second Amendment and antitrust allegations in a First Amendment.
“The Court’s dismissal decision allows the majority of WP Engine’s claims, including claims for intentional interference, unfair competition, and defamation, to proceed,” WP Engine added.
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