I am reasonably confident that most people around the world have heard of the country known as Iceland. Ironically, Iceland is not that icy, whilst the nearby Greenland is not very green, and is in fact, very icy. Leaving aside this amusing contradiction, Iceland is noted for active volcanoes, gorgeous landscapes, and the opportunity to swim between tectonic plates. It is said that Icelandic is a difficult language to learn. Beyond that, my knowledge of the country – other than Iceland knocking England out of Euro 2016 – is highly limited.

I have greater knowledge of Iceland the supermarket chain, which operates across the UK. Iceland the supermarket devotes itself to frozen goods, and has become widely noted for its festive party food selections, among other things. Iceland Foods Ltd was founded in 1970, and has become something of a high-street cornerstone. I pop into my local branch quite regularly, for they often have some intriguing bargains.

The nation of Iceland has existed for centuries, albeit for much of that time as an enclave of other countries. It became a sovereign nation from Denmark on the 1st of December 1918, and became a republic on the 17th of June 1944. Approximately 400,000 people live in Iceland, with roughly a third of them living in the capital city of Reykjavík. Iceland is associated with Europe for geopolitical purposes, and is NATO’s smallest member country.

You would imagine that the country of Iceland and Iceland Foods would not be on one another’s radar. In particular, would the nation take any interest in the retailer? Would anyone in Iceland have even noticed when Iceland Foods was founded? For Iceland Food’s part, the policies and practices of the nation of Iceland would surely have no bearing upon the retailer’s UK activities? This certainly appeared to be the case for many years, until relatively recently, when things started to get frosty (urgh) between the country and the supermarket.

It comes down to trademarks and brand recognition. EU law forbids registering a trademark against a national flag or emblem. It offers no such protection for the name of a country. Consequently, in 2002 Iceland Foods registered to trademark its name in 2002, and after 12 years and protests from the country, the retailer got its wish. In 2015 the dispute returned to the fore, with Iceland Foods attempting to block groceries with the label ‘Inspired by Iceland’. In effect, Iceland Foods objected to the word ‘Iceland’ on Icelandic products, and Iceland went as far as to allege that Iceland Foods went as far as to harass Icelandic businesses and even the Icelandic Tourist Board, over the use of Iceland in the trading names of Icelandic companies. In 2019, the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) ruled in favour of the country, invalidating the trademark Iceland Foods had been granted.

For their part, Iceland Foods insisted the government of Iceland had rebuffed attempts to find a reasonable compromise, and in September 2022 appealed the EUIPO’s decision. In December 2022, this appeal was rejected, with EUIPO reaffirming their original decision.

With the history of this rather unusual dispute out of the way, what does this meerkat make of it? Well, I am inclined to sympathise more with the country than the business. Iceland as a country has existed independently since December 1918, and the history of the island goes back far longer. Iceland has a unique cultural identity, and to suggest a supermarket chain can place a trademark upon that, and then restrict the activities of Icelandic businesses, seems foolhardy. I say that as someone who appreciates the value of Iceland Foods. I certainly believe country and company can co-exist.