Easy Life v easyGroup

The indie pop group, Easy Life, recently announced that they would be rebranding following the conclusion of their legal battle with easyGroup (who own the airline EasyJet, amongst other brands).

The group, who have been using the name since their formation in 2015, stated that their decision to rebrand was reached after they realised they would be unable to “afford a fair trial in the High Court”. Foremost in their minds was that the cost of doing so, in both time and money, would mean that they would be unable to record and release new music until after 2025 whilst they fought their corner in court.

So how did an indie pop group fall foul of the airline-owning conglomerate? The crux of the dispute is around the use of “Easy” in their respective branding.

Easy Life had been operating for a period of time without any issues with easyGroup.  As you may expect, the operations of easyGroup, whilst varied, do not really stray into the operation of music groups.

Whilst Easy Life had previously flown under the radar (pun intended) of easyGroup it seems that they finally drew attention to themselves by promoting their group using airplane iconography bearing similar branding to that of the easyGroup.

It appears easyGroup asserted that, as a result of its long-standing association with the term “easy” and the colours used in the easyJet branding, Easy Life had infringed upon its trademarks and diluted the brand's distinctiveness.

For context, easyGroup also own the brand name Easylife, which they have licenced for use by an online retail company who otherwise operate independently.

Easy Life attempted to argue that its operations were sufficiently distinct from easyGroup's, and that the term "Easy" had become a generic descriptor rather than an exclusive brand identifier. The conglomerate then highlighted its long-standing presence in various industries and argued that Easy Life's claims were baseless.

What started off as (arguably) a parody, turned into a forceful legal challenge with easyGroup seeking “substantial” financial damages and labelling Easy Life as “brand thieves” for using the name.

This is not the first time easyGroup has taken legal action of this type. In 2018, Netflix were subjected to the same proceedings over their series “Easy”.

Whilst unfortunate for Easy Life, this situation serves as a useful reminder to those with a reputable brand on the importance of seeking legal advice when protecting their branding and identity or even when planning an advertising campaign.

If you are looking for sensible & practical legal advice on protecting your intellectual property please contact Blacks’ IP team today on 0113 207 0000.