MP Harriet Harman has made a plea to EasyGroup for them to retract their menace of authorized motion in opposition to Straightforward Life.
Earlier this week, the group revealed that they had been being sued by the conglomerate and claimed the corporate was “forcing” them to alter their identify or they risked dealing with a expensive authorized battle.
Easygroup are the Cayman Islands-registered firm owned by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou constructed to develop the “simple” model from EasyJet’s airways into the fields of accommodations, supermarkets, monetary companies and extra – licensing out the “simple” identify.
In response, an EasyGroup spokesperson informed NME: “Stelios and easyGroup based and (now) personal the appropriate to the straightforward model identify.
“Different corporations (together with easyLife) pay annual royalties for its use as a part of their enterprise technique. We can not enable unauthorised third events to easily use it free, free of charge and for nothing. That might be very unfair.”
The corporate mentioned in a separate assertion: “With regards to the model thief Mr Matravers and his fellow band members who’ve determined to make use of our model, easyLife, with out permission, we now have a protracted established file of legally stopping thieves from utilizing our manufacturers and I’m assured we’ll cease Mr Matravers.”
The band refuted the suggestion that they had been “model thieves” and argued that that they had been utilizing their identify a very long time earlier than the conglomerate licensed the identify of the net retailer EasyLife, for which it receives an annual charge. The proprietor of EasyGroup has no monetary curiosity within the enterprise.
Now, Harman, who represents the constituency of Camberwell and Peckham, publicly wrote to easyJet on X/Twitter to talk up for the band.
“Hello @easyJet please verify that you’re withdrawing the authorized motion launched in opposition to my constituents’ band @easylife forthwith,” she wrote.
Hey Harriet, thanks a lot for the present of solidarity. I emailed you this morning. Can be nice to talk about this additional with you
— simple life (@easylife) October 7, 2023
The band responded: “Hey Harriet, thanks a lot for the present of solidarity. I emailed you this morning. Can be nice to talk about this additional with you.”
This isn’t the primary time EasyGroup have sued different companies for utilizing names containing the phrase ‘simple’.
In 2018, the corporate took authorized motion in opposition to Netflix over its comedy sequence Straightforward, claiming its use of the identify breached its European logos.
In response, Netflix mentioned in an announcement that “viewers can inform the distinction between a present they watch and a aircraft they fly in”
In 2008, the Northampton-based restaurant easyCurry modified its identify after being threatened with authorized motion.
The NME Award-winning band EasyLife have launched two acclaimed albums – 2022’s ‘Possibly In One other Life‘ and 2021 debut ‘Life’s A Seashore‘. They’ve been energetic since 2017.
