Netflix sued by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou over comedy series Easy

The American comedy is the target of a lawsuit from easyGroup
Lawsuit: Stelios Haji-Ioannou is taking on Netflix over trademark claims
Chris Radburn/PA Archive/PA Images
Natasha Sporn1 October 2018

Netflix is being sued by EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou over claims of trademark infringement for comedy series Easy.

It is claimed that Haji-Ioannou’s easyGroup is behind a law suit seeking an injunction to prevent the title being used in Europe.

The Easy prefix features in many of the brands owned by easyGroup, including budget airline easyJet, easyHotel, easyBus and easyGym.

US comedy series Easy, created by Joe Swanberg, first aired in 2016 and is slated to return for a third and final series in 2019.

Pictured: EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, in a bedroom of his first no-frills easyHotel
Michael Stephens/PA Archive/PA Images

The comedy-drama anthology show stars Zazie Beets, Jane Adams and Marc Maron among its cast. Orlando Bloom and Emily Ratajkowski has previously appeared.

In a statement, Sir Stelios said: “I think this is a case of typically arrogant behaviour by a very large American tech company who never bothered to check what legal rights other companies have outside the US. When Joe Swanberg came up with the name “easy” for his new TV series a couple of years ago they should have checked with their European lawyers before using it.

Easy: Elizabeth Reaser and Michael Chernus as Andi and Kyle
Netflix

“We own the European trademark in the word “easy” and another one thousand trademarks with easy as a prefix and we can’t allow people to use it now as a brand name, especially when they are doing it mostly with our colours and font.

“At least I am pleased that Netflix have said that they will stop at series three anyway. However we have to stop them from promoting the older series in Europe for online streaming.”

Addressing the case, Netflix said: “We're looking into it but think viewers can tell the difference between a show they watch and a plane they fly."

A section on the easyGroup website is dedication to “brand thieves” and “some people think they can make a fast buck by stealing our name and our reputation”.

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