Misleading
Icelanders fear that the Iceland trademark misleads consumers: giving them a false impression that in-store products come from Iceland.
Far-reaching claim
But what concerns the Icelanders most are the far-reaching claims made by the British supermarket: Iceland regularly tries to prevent other companies, which are Icelandic, from using the word ‘Iceland’ in their trademarks. For example, the company objected to new European registrations of the trademarks ‘Inspired by Iceland’ and ‘Iceland Gold’
Lost
Initially, the supermarket drew the short straw in 2019. According to the European Trademark Office EUIPO, you cannot claim a geographical indication like Iceland as a trademark. But of course, the supermarket did not give up so quickly and has appealed.
Established after 50 years
According to supermarket Iceland, consumers won’t really think that their products also come from Iceland. Moreover, Iceland believes that their trademark, which has been in use for more than 50 years, is well established. We can expect a ruling in this matter in the following months.
