EasyJetwash owner agrees to payout in trademark row

The owner of driveway-cleaning business EasyJetwash has agreed to pay damages and change the brand name after a trademark dispute with the firm that owns the EasyJet brand.

Jozsef Spekker, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was threatened with legal action by EasyGroup after he registered the trademark in April 2022.

He has now agreed to pay “significant damages” and legal costs as well as to stop using the Easyjetwash.com brand, which he will change to Stokejetwash.com, according to EasyGroup.

Mr Spekker confirmed the contents of easyGroup’s statement but declined to comment further.

EasyGroup said the agreement was made without having to go to a full trial in court, which it claimed would have been a “sure victory” for the firm.

Chairman Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou said Mr Spekker was given an 18-month phasing-out period to “educate his customers” about his business’s new name.

“Mr Spekker deliberately set out to profit from the reputation of EasyJet, the world famous airline, by using the exact word in his domain,” Sir Stelios added.

“Adding another word after a famous brand does not allow you to take advantage of the goodwill associated with that brand.”

Mr Spekker previously told the BBC he was sent a letter from EasyGroup demanding the “completely shut down” in December.

"When I registered as a trademark and got accepted I was 100% sure I have every right over my business, which is my only income,” he added.

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