EasyJet sues UK band over ‘Fuck the Tories’ jibe

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

EasyJet sues UK band over ‘Fuck the Tories’ jibe

EasyJet airplane a320 flying in the sky at sunset

The easyJet owner’s trademark complaint says the band Easy Life has risked damage to the airline’s reputation through negative publicity

The owner of the easyJet airline has sued indie band Easy Life for trademark misuse, citing the band’s use of “political slurs” such as “Fuck the Tories”, a copy of a complaint seen by Managing IP has revealed.

The band revealed it had been sued by easyGroup in a post on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday, October 2. EasyGroup owns easyJet as well as various other ‘easy’ brands.

“They’re forcing us to change our name or take up a costly legal battle which we could never afford. We’ve worked hard to establish our brand and I’m certain [that] in no way have we ever affected their business,” the post said.

“Although we find the whole situation hilarious, we are virtually powerless against such a massive corporation.”

Law firm Stephenson Harwood filed the claim on easyGroup’s behalf at the England and Wales High Court on September 6.

The claim centres on Easy Life posters and merchandise that used similar branding to easyJet’s orange logo.

One tour poster featured an easyJet plane featuring the band’s name instead of the airline’s logo.

The band also sold t-shirts with an Easy Life logo that resembled the airline’s branding, the claim added.

EasyGroup said the conduct of lead singer Murray Matravers and other band members risked damaging the easyJet brand through negative publicity.

According to the complaint, Matravers shouted “profanities and political slurs” during a performance, including “Fuck,”, “Fuck the Tories,” “You’re all crazy c**ts,” and “You’re all crazy motherfuckers”.

The complaint also cited reports that Matravers had to be carried off stage after drinking five shots of Scotch whisky during a show in Glasgow.

At a show in Oxford last month, meanwhile, one band member was said to have invited the crowd to “stay behind and take ketamine” with them, the complaint added.

In its social media post, Easy Life promised to keep its fans updated on the complaint.

“For those of you that bought gig tickets and ended up on a budget flight to Tenerife, I apologise, for the rest of you, thank you so much for your support.”

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Vivien Chan joins us for our ‘Women in IP’ series to discuss gender bias in the legal profession and why the business model followed by law firms leaves little room for women leaders
Partner Jeremy Hertzog explains how his team worked through a huge amount of disclosure from Adidas and what victory means for the firm
Evarist Kameja and Hadija Juma at Bowmans explain why a new law in Tanzania marks a significant shift in IP enforcement
In the wake of controversy surrounding Banksy’s recent London mural, AJ Park’s Thomas Huthwaite and Eloise Calder delve into the challenges street artists face in protecting their works and rights
Alex Levkin, founder of IPNote, discusses reshaping the filing industry through legal tech, and why practitioners’ advice should stretch beyond immediate legal needs
Cohausz & Florack, together with Krieger Mes & Graf von der Groeben, has taken action against Amazon on behalf of three VIA LA licensors
In the fourth episode of a podcast series celebrating the tenth anniversary of IP Inclusive, we discuss unconscious bias in the IP workplace and how to address it
Greg Munt, who has moved from Griffith Hack to James & Wells after four decades, hails his new firm’s approach to client service
Practitioners warn that closing the Denver regional office could trigger a domino effect, threatening local innovation and access to IP resources
Law firms are rethinking litigation strategies after USPTO director John Squires said he would take control of PTAB challenges
Gift this article