Lichfield firm vows to fight on in 'easy' name legal row

James Moir, of easyfundraising, said he was "flabbergasted" by the claim

A fundraising platform has vowed to continue to fight airline easyJet over its name.

EasyGroup told Lichfield's easyfundraising last year it was taking legal action for trademark infringement and it is due in court in summer 2024.

Earlier this week, members of Leicester indie band easy life said they would be changing their name after a similar claim by the company.

EasyGroup said other companies paid for the use of its brand name.

Easyfundraising, which launched in 2005, is a shopping platform which works with more than 7,000 brands who donate part of what shoppers spend through them to a charity of their choice, without additional cost to the customer.

CEO James Moir said the legal claim had come "out of the blue" in 2022.

"The court papers, all very official, arrived at our offices and said we were being sued. We were flabbergasted, it was so out of the blue, so ludicrous," he said.

"Easy is a very, very common word in the English language; in no way are we attempting to copy them [easyGroup] or use their brand, use their colours or use their logo."

Easy life members said they intended to change their name after two final shows

Earlier this week, easyGroup lodged a claim with the High Court against the band easy life, who, it said, promoted their Life's a Beach tour in 2021 and 2022 with a poster showing a plane in the style of easyJet's orange livery but substituting the airline's name with their own.

In a statement on their website, easy life confirmed they would play two final shows under their current name at the O2 Academy, in Leicester, on Thursday and Koko, London, on Friday.

The easyGroup has previously taken legal action against a number of companies over the use of the "easy" brand, including a Northampton-based restaurant.

Mr Moir added it was "disappointing" easy life felt forced to change their name but said easyfundraising. intended to fight its case.

"As you can imagine, the whole thing is a huge distraction for the business and it is really expensive, even if we win, which we are confident we will. Not all the costs are covered," he said.

EasyGroup, founded in 1998, manages the 'easy' brand

EasyGroup said other companies - including one of the UK's largest catalogue retailers, also called Easylife - paid for the use of its brand name.

A spokesperson added: "Stelios [Haji-Ioannou] and easyGroup founded and now own the right to the easy brand name.

"Other companies, including Easylife [the catalogue company], pay annual royalties for its use as part of their business strategy.

"We cannot allow others to simply use it free, gratis and for nothing. That would be unfair."

On Thursday, easyJet announced it had made a record profit this summer, before tax, of between £650m and £670m for July to September, due to increased passenger numbers and a rise in fares.