Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.com, is asking Automatic.CSS—a company that provides a CSS framework for WordPress page builders—to change its name amid public spats between Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg and Automatic.CSS creator Kevin Geary. Automattic has two T’s as a nod to Matt.

“As you know, our client owns and operates a wide range of software brands and services, including the very popular web building and hosting platform WordPress.com,” Jim Davis, an intellectual property attorney representing Automattic, wrote in a letter dated Oct. 30. 

“Automattic is also well-known for its longtime and extensive contributions to the WordPress system. Our client owns many trademark registrations for its Automattic mark covering those types of services and software,” Davis continued. “As we hope you can appreciate, our client is concerned about your use of a nearly identical name and trademark to provide closely related WordPress services. Automattic and Automatic differ by only one letter, are phonetically identical, and are marketed to many of the same people. This all enhances the potential for consumer confusion and dilution of our client's Automattic mark.”

Automattic “requests that you rebrand away from using Automatic or anything similar to Automattic,” Davis wrote.

Geary posted the full letter on X, where Mullenweg replied, “We also own automatic.com. You had to know this was a fraught naming area.” 

“AutomaticCSS is called ‘automatic’ because it's the only CSS framework that does a lot of things automatically,” Geary replied to Mullenweg. “Congratulations on owning the domain name for a generic term. Let me know when that fact becomes relevant.” 

In its trademark filing, Automattic lists the word “automatic” as a disclaimer, meaning an unregistrable word, “such as wording or a design that doesn’t indicate the source of your goods or services or is otherwise merely descriptive of them,” according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

This beef has gone on for months. On July 14, Mullenweg asked Geary publicly: “is it possible to get some text on automaticcss.com clarifying it has nothing to do with automattic?” “Sure, we'll add it to the footer,” Geary replied. Automatic.CSS has a disclaimer on the bottom of the page that says “(not affiliated with Automattic).”

And just a week before Automattic sent its request to Automatic to change their name, Geary and Mullenweg were beefing about whether making websites without coding expertise is sustainable... or something. “Best of luck selling your solution, I hope you can do so without creating FUD and dissing WordPress in the process,” Mullenweg said, midway through the argument. “You sound completely out of touch. When is the last time you coached someone on learning web design? For me it was yesterday. I’m the one that’s most in touch,” Geary replied. 

Geary and Mullenweg have frequently sparred on X, especially after the legal battle between WP Engine and Automattic began last year. In September 2024, Mullenweg started publicly accusing WP Engine of misusing the WordPress brand and not contributing enough to the open-source community, which led to the companies volleying cease and desists, including Automattic demanding WP Engine change its name. “Your unauthorized use of our Client’s trademarks infringes on their rights and dilutes their famous and well-known marks,” Automattic’s September 2024 cease and desist said. This eventually escalated to WP Engine suing Automattic, claiming that Automattic extorted the company by suggesting WP Engine pay “a mere 8% royalty” on WP Engine’s roughly $400 million in annual revenue, which would amount to about $32 million.

Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic Over WordPress Chaos

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg made another buyout offer this week, and threatened employees who speak to the press with termination.

404 MediaSamantha Cole

Last week, Automattic filed counterclaims in that case, claiming, “This case arises from WPEngine, Inc.’s (‘WP Engine’) deliberate misappropriation of WordPress-related trademarks and its false attempts to pass itself off as the company behind the world-renowned open-source WordPress software,” and that WP Engine “sought to inflate its valuation and engineer a quick, lucrative exit” as part of a deal with private equity firm Silver Lake, and “exploited the reputation, goodwill, and community trust built over two decades by counterclaimants Automattic, Inc., Matthew Mullenweg, WordPress Foundation, and WooCommerce Inc.”  

WP Engine told Techcrunch in a statement: “WP Engine’s use of the WordPress trademark to refer to the open-source software is consistent with longstanding industry practice and fair use under settled trademark law, and we will defend against these baseless claims.”

Geary and Davis did not respond to 404 Media’s request for comment. 

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week.

This week, JJ Watt finally had enough. The former NFL star, who played for the Houston Texans for close to a decade, took to X to declare that he was ready to give up on watching Monday Night Football. "Just frustrating," Watt posted. "All of it."

Watt's ire was caused by the ongoing carriage dispute between Disney and YouTube TV, which resulted in ESPN, and a bunch of other Disney networks, going dark on the Google-owned pay TV service on October 30th. The two companies are fi …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Lego’s Star Wars partnership helped the company endure financial uncertainty in the late ‘90s, but for the first time it’s announcing a collaboration with that other iconic space franchise. Lego’s first Star Trek set is a 3,600 piece replica of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation measuring nearly two-feet long. It will be available starting on November 28th from Lego’s online and brick-and-mortar stores for $399.99, and if purchased before December 1st, it will come with an additional set featuring a Star Trek: Type-15 Shuttlepod.

The Enterprise NCC-1701-D model features a detachable command saucer, a pair of warp nacelles with “distinctive red and blue detailing,” a shuttlebay that opens with a pair of miniature shuttlepods, and an angled display stand with a plaque listing details about the spacecraft including when it first was first launched and where it was built.

Making the $400 set even more tempting is a truly stellar lineup of nine Lego minifigures that each come with notable accessories from the TV series. Captain Jean-Luc Picard has a teacup, Commander William Riker includes a trombone, Lieutenant Commander Data is joined by his cat Spot, Lieutenant Worf brandishes a phaser, and Wesley Crusher uses a portable tractor beam generator. The other minifigures include Counsellor Deanna Troi, bartender Guinan, Dr. Beverly Crusher, and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge with a tricorder, engineering case, and PADD tablet.

I'm worried that they put co-pilot in Excel because Excel is the beast that drives our entire economy and do you know who has tamed that beast?

Brenda.

Who is Brenda?

She is a mid-level employee in every finance department, in every business across this stupid nation and the Excel goddess herself descended from the heavens, kissed Brenda on her forehead and the sweat from Brenda's brow is what allows us to do capitalism. [...]

She's gonna birth that formula for a financial report and then she's gonna send that financial report to a higher up and he's gonna need to make a change to the report and normally he would have sent it back to Brenda but he's like oh I have AI and AI is probably like smarter than Brenda and then the AI is gonna fuck it up real bad and he won't be able to recognize it because he doesn't understand Excel because AI hallucinates.

You know who's not hallucinating?

Brenda.

— @belligerentbarbies, on TikTok

Tags: generative-ai, ai, excel, hallucinations, llms, tiktok, ai-ethics

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Democratic Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani has twice defeated Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in the face of sexual harassment allegations, in New York City’s mayoral race. 

Mamdani emerged victorious over Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s general election, Decision Desk HQ projects. 

Mamdani, a 34-year-old self-described democratic socialist, saw a meteoric rise in the past year from a little-known state assemblymember from Queens to the next mayor of New York. 

His victory caps off an extraordinary mayoral campaign season marked by the embattled incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropping out of the race and New York City voters twice rejecting Cuomo’s attempt at a political comeback four years after his resignation as governor following sexual misconduct allegations. 

Mamdani ran a progressive, populist campaign centered on making New York City more affordable, tapping into voter concerns about the cost of living. He proposed offering free universal child care, opening city-run grocery stores, rolling out free bus service and freezing rents on rent-stabilized units.   

Mamdani’s focus on costs, plus his optimistic campaign message and digital savvy, mobilized Democratic voters. Mamdani built a formidable volunteer base and electoral coalition powered in large part by young voters, who turned out in droves to deliver a major upset for Mamdani over Cuomo in the June ranked-choice Democratic primary. 

Mamdani also earned the support of high-profile progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. While some prominent New York political figures were more skeptical of Mamdani, he and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul united over expanding access to child care, one of the biggest contributors to rising costs of living and a top priority for both.  

Mamdani will be New York’s youngest mayor in over a century and the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor. Mamdani’s identities became a focal point in the final days of the race amid a spate of what Mamdani said were Islamophobic comments from his rivals. 

The New York City mayor’s race was also a high-profile repudiation of a powerful man accused of sexual misconduct.

One year ago, President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election after being found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s reelection was seen as marking a political and cultural backlash to the #MeToo movement. 

But in New York City, voters rejected Cuomo — a fellow New Yorker and Queens native — who left office following a bombshell 165-page report overseen by the New York attorney general’s office that found he had sexually harassed 11 women, including some state employees. 

Those findings were echoed by similar investigations conducted by the Department of Justice and the New York State Assembly. At the time, Cuomo apologized while denying the most serious allegations against him. In the years since and during his mayoral campaign, Cuomo and his allies have cast doubt on his accusers’ credibility and painted him as the victim of politically motivated investigations. 

While Cuomo’s past scandals were not the most important issue in the race, Mamdani highlighted them when his opponent criticized Mamdani’s relative lack of governing experience.

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity, and what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience,” Mamdani told Cuomo in an October 16 debate.