Icelandic supermarket embroiled in legal battle with Nordic country over brand name

The Icelandic supermarket and the country of the same name have both been embroiled in a trademark dispute for two decades. Country argues retailer should never have had brand approved in 2016

The dispute between the supermarket and the country of the same name has been going on for two decades (

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An Icelandic supermarket is in a row with the country of the same name over a dispute over its brand.

The supermarket, founded in 1970, has been trying to register its name for several decades, but has faced resistance from the independent nation since 1944.

The state fears it won't be able to call some of the products it makes "Icelandic", if the retail giant wins its legal battle, according to Wales Online.

The country claims: "Iceland is widely accepted as a geographical name and should never have been approved as a trademark".

“This would mean that Icelandic companies could not use the word Iceland in their trademarks to refer to the products they sell,” said Margret Hjalmarsdottir, a lawyer at the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office.

The decision must be taken to the Grand Council of the EU Intellectual Property Office (

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The European Union came out against the business giant in 2019, which appealed the decision and the decision will now go to the Grand Council of the EU Intellectual Property Office.

The board decides trademark matters for each of the 27 member nations.

The 2019 decision stated: "It has been sufficiently demonstrated that consumers in EU countries know that Iceland is a country in Europe and that the country has historical and economic ties with countries in the EU. 'EU, in addition to its geographical proximity."