EasyGroup Ltd, the holding company for aviation giant’s easyJet, has issued proceedings against alternative indie band ‘Easy Life’ for alleged trade mark infringement over its use of the “Easy” name.
In the filing with the High Court, easyGroup claim that it “has suffered and/ or is likely to suffer loss and damage” as a result of the band’s name, and further “easyLife” is a member of the easyGroup family of brands. The easyGroup runs and/ or licences a number of brands which all boast the “easy” word following a relevant field of operation, i.e. easyFerry and easyTech.
Labelling the Leicester band as “brand thieves”, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the private investment vehicle behind the easyGroup states on the company website that it has “a long established record to legally stopping brand thieves and I am confident we will stop Mr Matravers”. The High Court filing states that although the claim value cannot be estimated at this time, it is considered to be “substantial”.
In a statement posted on the band’s social media, Easy Life responded to the claim stating “[although] we find the whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation”. The band was formed back in 2017, and boasts two Top 10 albums. The band argue that they face little choice than to change their name “or take up a costly legal battle which [they] could never afford”.
EasyGroup has a history of doggedly pursuing potential infringers of its intellectual property. It remains to be seen how the band will respond to the filing and if it will be able to retain the use of its name, or be forced to adapt.
If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
