EasyJet parent company EasyGroup has taken legal action against East Midlands-based musicians Easy Life, labelling the bandmates ‘brand thieves’.
Easy Life, a band which boasts roughly a million monthly listeners on Spotify, told fans on Twitter on Tuesday that ‘EasyJet are suing us for being called Easy Life’ and ‘forcing us to change our name’.
The group said the alternative would be a ‘costly legal battle which we could never afford,’ maintaining that the five-piece outfit had ‘worked hard to establish our brand’ and have ‘in no way’ affected EasyGroup’s business.
Leicester-based band Easy Life: ‘EasyJet are suing us for being called Easy Life’ and ‘forcing us to change our name’
Easy Life added: ‘Although we find the whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation.
‘For those of you that bought gig tickets and ended up on a budget flight to Tenerife, I apologise, the rest of you, thank you so much for your support.’
Easy Life were formed in Leicester in 2017 and found acclaim in 2020, winning NME Best New British Act and coming second in the 2020 edition of the BBC’s Sound of… annual poll of music critics and industry figures.
In response to media requests, EasyGroup published a statement ‘with reference to the brand thief Mr [Murray] Matravers’ – the band’s front man – ‘and his fellow band members who have decided to use our brand, easyLife, without permission’.
Cayman Islands-domiciled EasyGroup-owned EasyLife describes itself as a ‘retailer and distributor of problem-solving products for the home and garden’ – such as garden hoses and weed killer.
EasyGroup-owned EasyLife sells ‘problem-solving products for the home and garden”
The group added: ‘We have a long established record of legally stopping thieves from using our brands and I am confident we will stop Mr Matravers.’
EasyGroup hosts a page on its website entitled ‘brand thieves’, on which it boasts of legal victories against businesses it says have infringed upon its intellectual property.
‘Some people think they can make a fast buck by stealing our name and our reputation,’ it says.
The most recent post is from December 2019, when EasyGroup achieved a court order against Swiss hosting provider Exoscale which had been hosting an online betting portal known as Easybet.
‘EasyGroup and Sir Stelios have today claimed another victory in their efforts to cease infringing activity of brand thieves against the easy family of brands,’ the group said.
