(Reuters) - Two seasons in, UK budget airline magnate Stelios Haji-Ioannou is suing Netflix over the title of its Chicago-based show "Easy", arguing it infringes on more than a thousand trademarks he has registered using the word in Europe.
Under the lawsuit filed in a UK court, the founder of budget flights pioneer easyJet <EZJ.L> seeks to ban the streaming giant from showing or promoting the show under its current name.
Stelios, 51, the son of a shipping magnate, also owns the easyHotel <EZH.L>, easyBus, easyCar, easyProperty, easyOffice, easyFoodstore, easyCoffee, easyMoney and easyGym brands through his company easyGroup based in Monaco and London.
The claim seeks an injunction to prevent Netflix <NFLX.O> from using the name "Easy" in the European Union and not more than 10,000 pounds ($13,052) in damages.
"We own the European trademark in the word 'easy' and another one thousand trademarks with easy as a prefix," the billionaire said in a statement. "We can't allow people to use it now as a brand name, especially when they are doing it mostly with our colors and font."
"Easy" creator Joe Swanberg is also named as a defendant in the claim.
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for Swanberg was not immediately available for comment.
"Easy", which premiered in 2016, explores sex and romance through stories about a range of couples who live in Chicago. Its third and final season will be aired next year.
($1 = 0.7662 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)
