Daring to prefix an organization or perhaps a pop group’s title with “straightforward” might land you in authorized sizzling water, because the founding father of British airline easyJet relentlessly tackles alleged trademark breaches.
Greek-Cypriot tycoon Stelios Haji-Ioannou, whose easyGroup nonetheless has hyperlinks with the provider, has got down to defend the “straightforward” model by threatening courtroom motion in opposition to anybody deemed to be making the most of the title.
A proper criticism made by the person merely referred to as Stelios not too long ago pressured British indie pop band Simple Life, which additionally adorned posters with an plane exhibiting a likeness to an easyJet airplane, into altering its title. It selected Arduous Life.
EasyGroup owns the licenses to a number of entities with the “straightforward” title. The pop band took to social media when EasyJet was suing it, saying it didn’t have the funds to defend itself in what might be a prolonged authorized row.
To make sure, the airline group solely filed its trademark utility for the “Easylife” title in 2020—a number of years after the band was based. Nevertheless, easyGroup has sought to guard the “straightforward” prefix because it owns many companies with comparable names comparable to easyCinema and easyBooking.
‘Simple come, straightforward go’
“The issue with small model thieves if they’re left unchecked is that they change into worthwhile they usually develop,” an easyGroup spokesman instructed AFP in relation to quite a few ongoing lawsuits.
“Most of those instances by no means come to open courtroom because the model thieves realise that they’re within the fallacious and make modifications to the satisfaction of easyGroup,” he added.
Arduous Life nonetheless offers a nod to its previous, with the band’s account on X carrying the title message “straightforward come, straightforward go”.
Forward of releasing a brand new tune in June it wrote on the social platform: “Protected to say the final 9 months haven’t been straightforward.”
EasyGroup and Stelios, who lives in Monaco, insist that their actions are within the curiosity of the patron, to keep away from confusion and protect the corporate’s picture.
The spokesman added that “most of easyGroup’s income” go into the Stelios Philanthropic Basis.
The easyGroup mannequin sees it obtain royalties from licensing its model to 3rd events. It receives, for instance, 0.25 p.c of easyJet’s income, whereas the Haji-Ioannou household nonetheless owns 15 p.c of the provider.
Round 1,200 official “straightforward” manufacturers exist, from playing enterprise easyBet to easyGym, easyHotel and relationship website easyWoo—a lot of which exhibit the identical typeface and orange/white color scheme.
‘David and Goliath’
Unofficial “straightforward” firms contacted by AFP cited colossal authorized charges as the explanation for backing down and altering their names when pursued by easyGroup.
“As a small enterprise it was extremely onerous to maintain up financially with solicitor charges so for me I’m joyful to depart this behind me,” stated Jozsef Spekker, proprietor of Stoke Jetwash.
The driveway-cleaning enterprise was referred to as Simple Jetwash till August.
The brand new title takes the title of the town the place his small enterprise is predicated in central England.
An mental property regulation specialist on the London College of Economics, Luke McDonagh, described such instances as “David and Goliath battles”.
“Some individuals name this trademark bullying, the place basically Goliath takes a case in opposition to a David, a small firm that actually has no sources and can’t combat again,” he instructed AFP.
“It’s not simply easyGroup, it will be fallacious to single them out, numerous huge firms do that,” he added, citing Apple, L’Oreal and tv broadcaster Sky as prime examples.
McDonagh believes easyGroup, whose branding extends to cruise firm easyBoat and household-products agency easyCleaning, “has been going too far in taking so many instances in opposition to these small entities”.
“The aim of trademark regulation is to not give a vast monopoly on a phrase. It is likely to be totally different if it was a completely made-up phrase, however ‘straightforward’ is such a standard phrase within the English language that different firms want to have the ability to use it in an inexpensive means.”
EasyGroup has loved “many authorized (trademark) victories over time”, the spokesman stated.
Even when it could not all the time seem to be a combat between equals, Stelios has misplaced a couple of challenges over the model’s title. In 2018, for example, the group misplaced a case in opposition to automotive vendor Arnold Clark over the title of its fee system, Simple Pay.
Earlier this month, Easyfundraising, an almost 20-year-old Staffordshire-based firm, received a authorized battle in opposition to EasyGroup alongside comparable traces.
The Excessive Courtroom in London dominated in favour of on-line platform easyfundraising, which is hoping to get well round £1.0 million ($1.3 million) in authorized charges, regardless of an attraction hanging over the corporate.
“It’s telling that EasyGroup weren’t capable of produce a single piece of proof exhibiting any buyer confusion has ever existed,” Easyfundraising’s CEO James Moir instructed the BBC. Stelios, however, stated he would attraction the choice as he was “upset” by it.
“It’s like a warfare of attrition, they usually simply hope that in the end firms give in, as a result of it’s too lengthy, it’s an excessive amount of trouble, it’s too costly,” Moir instructed AFP.
