‘Brand thieves’: Easyjet’s parent firm takes legal action against UK band Easy Life
Easyjet’s parent company Easygroup is suing a Leicestershire band over the use of ‘easy’ in its name.
The artist called Easy Life has said the airline’s biggest shareholder is taking legal action against it, with the aviation giant insisting it has chased numerous similar cases in the past.
Easy Life is a five-member band formed in Leicester and led by lead singer Murray Matravers, and said it found the case “hilarious”.
Easygroup, which is a separate company to EasyJet Airline Company Limited, is its largest shareholder with more than 15 per cent of the airline, and was the first firm owned by EasyGroup to use the “easy” prefix.
It released a punchy statement addressed to “the brand thief Mr Matravers and his fellow band members who have decided to use our brand, Easy Life without permission,” easygroup said.
“We have a long established record of legally stopping thieves from using our brands and I am confident we will stop Mr Matravers.”
This isn’t the first legal action taken against a brand with the word “easy” in the name, with others including a website titled “easyairpark.gr” for an airport/transportation services brand and the “easyway” tourist services brand.
A spokesperson for Easygroup said that other brands, including catalogue company Easylife, pay annual royalties for the use of the brand name.
“We cannot allow unauthorised third parties to simply use it free, gratis and for nothing. That would be very unfair,” they added.
The band responded on social media in a statement, saying it “never imagined having to do this but we’ve no choice but to address the situation we find ourselves in.
“As some of you have already discovered, we are being sued. easy jet [sic] are suing us for being called easy life. They’re forcing us to change our name or take up a costly legal battle which we could never afford.
“We’ve worked hard to establish our brand and I’m certain in no way have we ever affected their business.”
The group added that “although we find the who situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation. I don’t really know what else to say, will keep you lot updated.”
Easyjet’s rival Ryanair got in on the act on social media, tweeting: “Ryan Gosling prep the cash”.