EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou‘s Easygroup claims a fundraising website infringed its trademarks, in an Irish Commercial Court case with implications for digital business in the post-Brexit era.
Easygroup and an Irish subsidiary are asking the court to hear a claim that British-based easyfundraising Ltd and The Support Group (UK) Ltd breached its trademark rights by targeting Irish people through their website.
Haji-Ioannou’s group owns a website, EasyFundraising.ie, which allows customers book travel and accommodation and donates part of what they spend to the Red Cross.
The businessman, still a majority shareholder in EasyJet, includes “easy” as a prefix in many of his group’s brand names.
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The group argues that the defendants, easyfundraising, have been engaged in a similar business in the Republic since November last year.
That website allows customers book travel with Aer Lingus and Irish Ferries among others, and donates cash to some charities in the Republic, including Breast Cancer Ireland and several religious organisations based here, court filings state.
Easygroup wants the court to order the defendants to cease this activity and a declaration that its use of the easyfundraising name is a breach of trademark rights.
The defendants argue that the Irish courts have no jurisdiction to hear the case.
Their lawyers told the court on Tuesday that EU trademark law stipulates that websites must specifically target customers in a member state before there are grounds to take action under the bloc’s trademark laws.
The “mere fact” that a website is available in an EU member state is not enough to warrant court action, they said.
“They have not placed any evidence before the court that the platform seeks to target Irish or EU customers,” said easyfundraising’s senior counsel, Jonathan Newman.
Just 16 out of every 11,600 customers were Irish, the lawyer said. “That’s hardly suggestive of targeting,” he added. The website requires customers to confirm they are UK residents, he explained.
Some charities, including Breast Cancer Ireland, were wrongly listed and are no longer on the website while others are based in the North, according to Newman.
Many of the businesses involved sell their products and services in the UK as well as the Republic, and may have been listed on the site by afilliates, he pointed out.
None of the businesses or charities are involved in the litigation, which is solely between the two website operators.
The defendants also challenge whether Easygroup is “legally” established here, and thus able to take proceedings under EU trademark law in the first place.
EasyGroup’s senior counsel, Imogen McGrath told the court that the second plaintiff, easyGroup IP Ireland Ltd, is based here and charged with protecting the overall group’s intellectual property interests in the EU.
She noted that the group had substantial businesses in the Republic, meeting the legal requirement to be established in the bloc.
EasyGroup has a “legitimate EU-registered trademark” McGrath stressed.
She argued that the defendant’s website did target Irish or EU customers. “The fact that a consumer sees retailers that are quintessentially Irish would lead this consumer to consider themselves targeted,” she said.
There was a reasonable presumption that infringement of Easygroup’s trademark had occurred, which was all that was required for the court to hear the case.
Judge Rory Mulcahy acknowledged that several of the legal issues raised could have consequences for cross-border digital trade. The case continues.
