DJ Easyfun’s cover for his 2015 EP Deep Trouble, which he has changed since easyGroup filed a lawsuit against the artist (Picture: Easyfun)
EasyGroup, the parent company of airline easyJet, is suing DJ Easyfun just months after filing a lawsuit against pop group Easy Life.
On its website, the company claims the British artist – real name Finn Keane – is ‘mimicking easyGroup’s famous branding to create instant brand recognition for his DJing business’.
It took particular issue with the cover art for Easyfun’s 2015 EP Deep Trouble.
The cover depicts a plane that appears to have crashed in the sea and passengers in swimwear sliding into the water on an evacuation slide.
The aircraft has easyFun in orange lettering written on the side.
easyGroup said: ‘Not only is the artwork in bad taste but an association with such a tragic event risks seriously damaging the reputation in easyGroup’s trade marks, in particular easyJet.’
Music Tech reports that Easyfun – also a producer and songwriter – has written to easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s lawyers stating: ‘If your client is annoyed at some of the artwork or images that they think mimics the easyFamily get up, that has always been completely tongue in cheek.
DJ Easyfun pictured on stage in Austin, Texas in 2015 (Picture: Steve Rogers Photography/Getty Images for SXSW)
easyGroup’s statement on its website is accompanied by the above Easyfun artwork and photo
‘It’s very obvious that it’s meant as a joke and I really struggle to understand why your client has any reason to be concerned about it.
‘That said, I obviously don’t want to be stuck in a legal dispute with a big company like your client and so I have removed the examples in your letter where I can and will seek to avoid similar artwork in the future.’
Easyfun has changed the Deep Trouble cover to a depiction of the ocean.
The DJ appears to also have changed the first letter of his name from a lower case e, like in easyJet, to a capital E.
easyGroup said the Deep Trouble art work depicting a plane crash could damage easyJet’s reputation(Picture: Getty Images)
In October easyGroup also filed a lawsuit against UK indie pop band Easy Life, known for hits such as Nightmares and Ocean View.
It said the group had infringed on easyJet’s trademark through its name and merchandise, which it said imitated the easyJet’s logo. A tour poster also featured a plane, it added.
On an Instagram post, Easy Life said they had ‘no power’ to fight against such a big corporation and would therefore have to drop the name.
Easy Life members Sam Hewitt, Jordan Birtles, Lewis Berry, Murray Matravers and Oliver Cassidy pictured at the NME Awards in 2020. The group have had to drop their name (Picture: Jo Hale/Redferns)
‘Essentially it’s David vs Goliath and our British legal system favours Goliath’, they wrote.
They had a final concert under the Easy Life name on October 13 and afterwards posted ‘see you later, maybe never’.
It’s not clear whether they plan to return under a new name.
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The budget airline’s parent company, easyGroup took particular issue with an album cover depicting a plane crash.