Inception…
The Icelandic Government has said that “unrealistic and unacceptable” demands by the food chain Iceland Foods have forced them to go to court in order to protect their country’s national identity.
“Iceland Foods has aggressively pursued and won multiple cases against Icelandic companies which use ‘ICELAND’ in their representation or as part of their trademark, even in cases when the products and services do not compete,” a statement from the Iceland Foreign Ministry said.
The Nordic country has taken their case to the European Union Intellectual Property Office with the aim being to ensure “the right of Icelandic companies to use the word ‘Iceland’ in relation to their goods and services”.
Iceland (the country) said it has tried to reach an agreement with Iceland Foods without any success, prompting them to pursue legal action.
The company responded to Sky News by saying: “We very much regret that the Government of Iceland has apparently decided to take legal action over the use of the name Iceland.
“Contrary to their assertion we have received no recent approaches to achieve an amicable resolution of this issue, which would be our preferred approach.
“While we will vigorously defend Iceland Foods’ established rights where there is any risk of confusion between our business and Iceland the country, we have been trading successfully for 46 years under the name Iceland and do not believe that any serious confusion or conflict has ever arisen in the public mind, or is likely to do so.”
Ah lads, can’t we all just get along?
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