The country of Iceland freezes out the eponymous supermarket: ICELAND trade marks invalidated

• Published in: Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice
• Main Authors: Meale, Darren, Walles, Nicola
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2019
• Subjects: Law; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpz154; http://academic.oup.com/jiplp/article-pdf/15/1/4/33221870/jpz154.pdf

Abstract The Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Others v Iceland Foods Limited, EUIPO Cancellation No 14 030 C (Invalidity), 5 April 2019; Icelandic Trade mark Holding ehf v Iceland Foods Limited, EUIPO Cancellation No. 19 387 C (Invalidity), 27 May 2019 Iceland Foods’ European Union trade marks for ICELAND were held invalid for all goods and services in a duo of recent decisions from the European Union Intellectual Property Office Cancellation Division, after The Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs successfully argued that the exclusive rights conferred on the food and beverage retail giant unfairly monopolized what is, of course, the name of a country in the European Economic Area.