The Icelandic authorities and parties to the case anxious that it was necessary to reach a substantive finding in the Plank of Appeals’ deliberation of the case, this being an unprecedented case for Icelandic passions as there are no identified incidences of a similar use of a geographical name inside trademark law. The celebrations to the case have had a number of meetings over the years to discuss a compromise, but these have not yielded an acceptable conclusion. The European Union Intellectual Property Office’s Fantastic Board of Appeal provides rejected all of the requests of the British retail chain Iceland Foods Ltd regarding the use of the word mark Iceland . The company can no longer stop Icelandic enterprises through identifying themselves with their country of origin when marketing their goods and services in the Euro Economic Area.
In 2019, the EUROPEAN Intellectual Property Office approved all of the Icelandic State’s demands when it concluded that the retail chain’s brand registration of the word mark ICELAND was invalid in its entirety. In its ruling associated with December 15, the Fantastic Board of Appeal verifies all the points of that searching for. The time-limit to charm the finding to the Court of Justice of the European Union is 15 February 2023.
The case concerns the basic passions of Icelandic enterprises involved in foreign trade. The Icelandic authorities, in partnership with Business Iceland and the SA Confederation associated with Icelandic Enterprise, filed Iceland’s request for a declaration associated with invalidity with the European Union Mental Property Office (EUIPO) in 2016. Oral proceedings before the Board of Charm were held last Sept. The Icelandic State’s 2016 request that EUIPO invalidate the word mark ICELAND had been based on the trademark not satisfying the legal requirements just for registration as a European Union trademark.
“This unequivocal finding of the Board associated with Appeal is very pleasing; however , this entire case is quite absurd, ” said Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) for Foreign Affairs Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir. “It is of prime importance intended for Icelandic export enterprises to be able to refer to their origin, specifically considering that our country includes a reputation for purity plus high quality. No-one should be able to claim ownership of the name of a sovereign state. ”
“This finding is a big victory and shields the value inherent in having the ability to identify with the country of origin and the valuable brand Iceland , ” said Minister better Education, Science and Creativity Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir. “It is also likely that the acquiring will affect developments within international intellectual property regulation and it is pleasing to think that will Iceland is leading that will process. ” The Board of Appeals’ findings regarding the term mark
The Board of Appeals’ findings regarding the logo
