WeWork paid its own CEO, Adam Neumann, just shy of $6 million for use of the word "We."

Neumann owned the trademark through a private company, which then sold the trademark use to WeWork.

In WeWork's latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it had retrieved the money it paid to Neumann for the trademark and had retained use of rights to the "we" branding.

It did as much "at Adam's direction," the filing said.

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When WeWork filed to go public this summer, we learned an incredible detail about its cofounder Adam Neumann: He was paid a whopping $5.9 million by the company he runs for use of the word "we."

The logic was laid out as such: Ahead of its initial-public-offering filing, WeWork reorganized and rebranded as The We Company. To rebrand itself around the word "We," the company paid its own CEO nearly $6 million for trademark rights.

The transaction was handled through a private company that Neumann is a managing member of, We Holdings LLC, which owned the trademark rights to the word "we." Moreover, WeWork characterized the nearly $6 million payment as "fair market value."

The We Company

In his analysis of the company following its IPO filing, the New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway characterized the situation as such:

"Adam also owned the rights to the 'We' trademark, which the firm decided they must own and paid the founder/CEO $5.9 million for the rights. The rights to a name nearly identical to the name of the firm where he's the founder/CEO and largest shareholder. YOU. CAN'T. MAKE. THIS. S---. UP."

Read more: How WeWork paid Adam Neumann $5.9 million to use the name 'We'

On Wednesday, in a newly filed Securities and Exchange Commission document, WeWork walked back that arrangement.

"The issuance to We Holdings LLC of the partnership interests was unwound and the partnership interests were returned to the We Company Partnership," the document said. "The We Company continues to hold all of the assigned rights to the 'we' family trademarks."

WeWork CEO Adam Neumann Michael Kovac/Getty Images for WeWork

Put more simply: WeWork retrieved the $5.9 million it paid to Neumann and retained the trademark rights to the word "we."

Moreover, the filing said the return of the $5.9 million and retaining of rights was done "at Adam's direction." Neumann continues to serve as CEO of The We Company.