Ryanair accuse Private Eye of breaching trademark

Picking up a copy of the latest Private Eye yesterday, I noticed a letter from Jim Callaghan on the letters page.

No, ex Prime Ministers aren't writing in from beyond the grave, this Jim Callaghan is the director of legal and regulatory affairs at Ryanair.

The letter accuses Private Eye of breaching Ryanair's trademark, and says they will not initiate legal proceedings if the Eye donate £1000 to the charity ORBIS Ireland.

It does astonish me that Mr Callaghan is being so heavy handed.

Private Eye used Ryanair's name in a satirical advert joking about "cheap frights".

The magazine frequently uses spoof trademarks and newspaper mastheads (banners) to make jokes. Indeed, there is a Daily Mirror spoof masthead in the current issue.

No one would think this was a real advert from Ryanair.

The Eye have referred the good director to the case of Arkell v Pressdram, where the Eye gave the reply "F*** off".

You can see more about Ryanair's trademark enforcement here.