Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, making it hard to use “easy”
Sir Stelio Haji-Ioannou - All rights reserved
The Monegasque resident and founder of easyJet is said to have filed over a dozen claims with the UK High Court.
The Times published the news. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of easyJet, and more broadly of easyGroup, is determined to protect his “easy” brand.
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easyGroup had already taken legal action against the British music group Easy Life in October for using the name “easy” without permission, and for marketing merchandise inspired by easyJet.
While Easy Life commented on the situation with humour on social media, stating that the group had never had a negative impact on the company, easyGroup reacted through a press release: “Not only does this take unfair advantage of easyGroup’s brand but it can also damage it. For example, negative PR about Matravers [the founder of Easy Life, Ed.] (for example, having to be carried off stage for being too drunk to perform), can reflect badly on easyGroup,” the company says.
A battle won, but the war is not over. According to The Times, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has lodged a dozen complaints about similar practices. One of the latest is said to target Finn Keane, songwriter and record producer, known as ‘easyFun.’ “easyGroup believes that Mr Keane has deliberately chosen to mimic easyGroup’s famous branding to create instant brand recognition for his “DJ” ing business ,” the company said on its website.
Artistic parody?
At issue is the cover of the Deep Trouble album, released in 2015, which depicted a plane that had just ditched. The orange and white aircraft featured the same typeface as is used by easyGroup. “It’s a joke,” the artist reportedly told Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s lawyers. In his defence, Finn Keane claims that the image depicts a crash, but in a humorous way. “Not only is the artwork in bad taste but an association with such a tragic event risks seriously damaging the reputation in (sic) easyGroup’s trade marks, in particular easyJet,” responded Sir Stelios, who has claimed damages as a result.
As well as alleged unauthorised brand appropriation, easyGroup condemns parodies that could mislead consumers. But according to The Times, “there is no statutory defence of parody to trade mark infringement” under British law, unlike in other countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia.
“The general consensus seems to be that some parodic use of a trade mark, particularly where the parody is a form of artistic or political freedom of expression, is unlikely to cause any harm to the trade mark owner,” David Hansel, managing partner of London law firm Hansel Henson, told The Times . The firm also advised a number of companies that have been targeted by easyGroup, including Easyart, Easynet, Easy Pizza and Easy Live Auction.
Nevertheless, according to the British daily newspaper, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou did win his case against Easy Life. The band has been forced to change its name. On its website, easyGroup has also shared other decisions in its favour handed down by the UK High Court against “brand thieves.” One of them is Easy Car Credit Limited, a company specialising in second-hand vehicles, and which also used easyGroup’s distinctive elements in its marketing.
