Iceland (the country) considers suing Iceland (the supermarket) for using its name
Foreign Ministry confirms that it is considering legal action against the frozen foods giant
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Your support makes all the difference.Iceland’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that it is considering suing frozen foods giant, Iceland for using its name, 45 years after it was founded.
“I can confirm that this is being looked into, but no decision has been made,” a spokesman for Iceland’s ministry of foreign affairs told the Press Association.
“We are looking for a ‘live and let live’ outcome,” said Jon Asbergsson, managing director of Promote Iceland, an agency linked to the Icelandic foreign ministry.
The country is not seeking to make Iceland Foods surrender its brand, Asbergsson explained. But the nation wants to ensure its firms are able to register the name “Iceland” across the UK and EU.
“We didn’t make any objections in the beginning, as we were never going to be running any supermarkets,” Asbergsson said.
“But over the course of the years they have been registering the name in several other categories and companies that have Iceland in the name, they (the supermarket) have been objecting to them using the word Iceland in their names or logos.”
A spokesman for the budget supermarket chain said: “Iceland Foods has traded under the Iceland name in the UK since 1970, and is today one of the UK’s most recognised brands. We have also traded as Iceland for many years in other EU countries, and in non-EU countries, including Iceland itself.
“We are not aware that our use of the Iceland name has ever caused any confusion with Iceland the country.”
Bergthora Halldorsdottir, a lawyer who works for Business Iceland, added: “We are contemplating whether it is fair to be able to trademark the name of a country without its inhabitants having any say in the matter.”
The company, whose headquarters are in Deeside, has more than 800 stores across the UK and employs more than 23,000 staff.
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