UK frozen food retailer Iceland has ended its decade-long trademark dispute with the country of Iceland, with executive chair Richard Walker pledging a “rapprochement discount” for Icelandic shoppers instead of pursuing further legal action.
The move comes after the retailer suffered its third legal defeat in the courts last year in its long-running effort to maintain exclusive EU trademark rights to the name “Iceland”.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Walker said the company would abandon plans to pursue a final appeal and instead redirect the legal budget towards a goodwill gesture for the country’s citizens.
“We lost for a third time. We’re going to throw in the towel,” Walker said. “It’s actually fine – we don’t have to change our name.”
He added that the “couple of hundred thousand pounds” that would have been spent on legal fees in a final EU court battle would instead fund a “rapprochement discount to the good Icelandic people”.
The discount is expected to take the form of shopping vouchers that Icelandic consumers will be able to redeem with the UK retailer.
A decade-long dispute, explained
The surreal legal battle began in 2016 when the Icelandic government challenged the retailer’s ownership of the EU-wide trademark for the word “Iceland”.
Authorities argued that the registration prevented businesses from the Nordic nation from marketing their own goods and services abroad under their country’s name.
In July last year, the EU General Court upheld a decision by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to cancel the supermarket chain’s EU trademark for the word.
The ruling reinforced the principle that geographical names must remain available for public use, particularly where they may describe the origin or characteristics of goods or influence consumer perceptions.
Evidence presented during the case showed that Iceland produces a range of goods across multiple product categories covered by the trademark, including processed foods and beverages.
The court therefore concluded that allowing exclusive trademark protection for the country’s name could restrict other businesses from using a legitimate geographical descriptor.
Concerns over brand protection
Although the retailer will retain its name in the UK and other markets, Walker acknowledged the ruling could create new brand challenges. “My only worry is that other people now have the ability to open shops and call it Iceland and stock Iceland products,” he told the Financial Times.
Despite those concerns, the company has opted not to pursue further legal avenues.
A family-owned retail success story
Iceland Foods was founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Malcolm Walker, who opened the first store in Oswestry, Shropshire, specialising in frozen food.
The retailer has since grown into one of the UK’s best-known value supermarket chains, operating more than 900 storesunder the Iceland and The Food Warehouse banners.
The business is privately owned by Malcolm Walker and chief executive Tarsem Dhaliwal, who joined the company as a trainee accountant in 1985.
The pair regained full control of the business in 2020 after buying out South African investment group Brait, which had previously backed a £1.45bn management buyout that took the retailer private in 2012.
Walker’s son, Richard Walker, became executive chair in 2023 after his father stepped down from day-to-day leadership.
The retailer, headquartered in Deeside, Wales, also owns the restaurant group Individual Restaurants, whose brands include Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill.
Richard Walker was recently appointed as the UK government’s cost of living champion and was made a Labour peer earlier this year by prime minister Keir Starmer.
The decision to end the dispute brings to a close one of the retail sector’s most unusual and long-running trademark battles, one that has tested the limits of how geographical names can be protected as brands in the European market.
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