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10 September 2010, 12:00

WordPress Foundation take control of WordPress trademark

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Automattic has transferred ownership of the WordPress trademark to the non-profit WordPress Foundation. The announcement was made by one of WordPress's founding developers, Matt Mullenweg, who called the change "a really big deal". Launched in January, the WordPress Foundation's mission is "to democratise publishing through open source, GPL software".

Mullenweg's company, Automattic, had registered for a trademark on the WordPress brand in 2006 when it was just a small start-up company that allowed the developers to work on WordPress full-time. In the years since then, the brand "has grown immeasurably" says Mullenweg, adding that although it's rare for a company to donate their trademarks to a non-profit foundation, "I know in my heart that this is the right thing for the entire WordPress community".

The Foundation has now published trademark policy for the WordPress branding and, in acknowledging the transfer of the mark, said "The Foundation will do its best to safeguard this legacy".

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(djwm)

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