Iceland Foods’ managing director Richard Walker has said the supermarket will “vigorously defend” its intellectual property rights, referring to the ongoing naming dispute between the frozen foods retailer and the country.
Iceland Foods, founded in 1970, has been trying to trademark its name since 2002. It succeeded in 2014, only to be overruled just five years later when Iceland the country won a ruling from the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) which invalidated the retailer’s EU trademark registration.
The Icelandic government claims that allowing Iceland the supermarket to trademark its name would stop the country’s businesses from describing their products as Icelandic.
The long-running dispute has come to a head again, as the grocer is appealing to the courts to overturn the 2019 decision. The case has been taken to the Grand Board of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the bloc’s trademark authority.
“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,” said Iceland Foods managing director Richard Walker, adding that the supermarket has 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,” he continued.
“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.”
