Group goes after company promoting WordPress assistance with domain names that include “WordPress”.

WordPress Foundation, the charitable organization founded by Matt Mullenweg for the WordPress open source project, has sued the owner of TheWordPressHelpers.com and other domains. The lawsuit alleges that Edward Jeffrey Yablon and PC-VIP, Inc. are infringing WordPress’ trademarks and that the use of the domain names constitutes cybersquatting.

The defendants own a number of WordPress related domain names including TheWordPressHelpDesk.com, TheWordPressTrainers.com, TheWordPressTeachers.com, TheWordPressDoctors.com, WordPressTraffic.com and TheWordPressTutors.com. These domain names forward to TheWordPressHelpers.com.

WordPress Foundation has guidelines for how third parties can use the WordPress trademarks. One of the guidelines is that they must not be used in domain names.

According to the lawsuit, WordPress Foundation reached out to defendants multiple times this year, asking them to stop using the trademarks. Not only did they not stop, but on May 12, defendant Yablon instituted an opposition proceeding with the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to try to halt one of WordPress’ trademark applications.

The lawsuit (pdf) is seeking the defendants to stop using the trademarks, dismiss the opposition proceeding, hand over any profits related to use of the WordPress marks, pay up to $100,000 per infringing domain name, transfer the domain names and pay other fees and damages.