Iceland takes Nordic nation to court again in trademark row

Iceland Foods has fought for years to trademark the name it has used since it was formed in 1970, but the Icelandic government has claimed it would stop the country’s businesses from describing their products as Icelandic. 

Now the two parties will go to court once again, according to The Metro, after Iceland Foods launched an appeal against a 2019 European union decision against it.  

The Nordic Country won that ruling from the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which invalidated the exclusivity of Iceland Foods’ EU trademark registration. 

The case has now been taken to the Grand Board of the EUIPO. 

Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported that oral arguments opened on Friday (September 9). 

Margrét Hjálmarsdóttir, an attorney at the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office, told reporters that defeat for the country “would mean that Icelandic companies could possibly not use the word Iceland in their trademarks to designate the products they’re selling.”

The EUIPO board is unlikely to make a decision until next year, but that ruling could also be appealed by either party. Such a move would then escalate the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.  

Iceland Foods managing director Richard Walker said: “Our business is family owned and was named “Iceland” Foods by my Mother, the late Lady Walker. We have traded successfully under our name in the UK since 1970, and today it is one of the UK’s most recognised brands. We have traded as Iceland in a large number of EU countries and in non-EU countries, including Iceland itself.

“We had sincerely hoped that we would be able to avoid last week’s hearing and reach an amicable agreement.

“While we will vigorously defend Iceland Foods’ intellectual property rights where there is any risk of confusion between our business and those of another business, this would not restrict Icelandic producers describing goods or services as coming from Iceland.

“We have been trading successfully for over 50 years under the name Iceland and do not believe that any serious confusion or conflict has ever arisen in the public mind between our business or Iceland the country, or is likely to do so. Iceland Foods is proud of its legacy, serving customers who rely on us for affordable products, particularly in times when the cost of living is increasing at an alarming rate.”

Iceland Foods was initially granted its trademark request by EUIPO back in 2014, but the Icelandic government tried and failed to reach a settlement with the retailer out of court. 

The row escalated a year later when Iceland Foods tried to stop the trademark ‘Inspired by Iceland’ from being branded on groceries. 

The trademark was registered to Íslandsstofa, which was not a commercial company, but part of the Icelandic government.

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