DEFEAT FOR JET WASH DAD WHO TOOK ON AIRLINE BOSS
David v Goliath battle ends as driveway cleaner pays ‘significant’ damages and agrees to change name of his business
A DAD who runs a driveway cleaning business called Easyjetwash has paid ‘significant damages’ to the billionaire founder of airline easyjet following a trademark row.
Jozsef Spekker found himself in hot water with easygroup boss Sir Stelios Haji-ioannou over the name of his pressure washing service.
The 43-year-old had run his oneman Newcastle business for three years charging about £100 to clean people’s drives, patios, garden paths and conservatories.
But in June Sir Stelios wrote to Mr Spekker ordering him to rebrand his company or face a costly legal battle.
Now easygroup has confirmed Mr Spekker has agreed to pay significant damages and legal costs as well as change his brand name, which he registered in 2022.
Chairman Sir Stelios said he was giving him an 18-month phasing-out period to ‘educate his customers’ about his business’ new name Stokejetwash.
Mr Spekker said: “We have come to an agreement and it has avoided going to court so I’m just trying to focus on the positives.
“I have to start again but at least I have 18 months to rebrand, and I suppose it could have been worse because fighting a big company in court would not have been easy. I’m not allowed to say how much I’ve had to pay. I’m just trying to move on now and put it all behind me.”
Sir Stelios, creator and owner of the easy brands, including easyjet, said: “I believe this is a good outcome for both sides and the rule of law was upheld, and the consumer was protected from confusion.
“In return for Mr Spekker agreeing to pay damages and legal costs to us we have agreed to generously give Mr Spekker a phasing out period of 18 months to educate his customers about his 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.
“Adding another word after a famous brand does not allow you to take advantage of the goodwill associated with that brand. What’s also very telling of his intentions is that Mr Spekker used his expert knowledge of search engine optimisation to have his website be the first organic result in a Google search of the words ‘Easy Jetwash’ ahead of the airline. I am glad in the end he realised that this is not lawful, and he agreed to stop.”