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Imagine being so successful at selling
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frozen peas that you tried to sue an
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entire country for using your own name.
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For the UK supermarket Iceland and the
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nation of Iceland, this was a
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multi-decade legal reality. The frosty
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Iceland Foods, founded by Malcolm Walker
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in 1970, had trademarked the name
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Iceland across the European Union. But
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the Icelandic government argued this was
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stifling their actual businesses. In
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theory, this meant an Icelandic
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fisherman couldn't label his salmon as
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Icelandic without risking a legal
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broadside from a British grocery chain.
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The government claimed the supermarket
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was harassing local firms just for being
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from their own home. For years, the
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supermarket fought back. Malcolm Walker
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even sent a high-level delegation to
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Reykjavik on a charm offensive, arguing
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the two entities had coexisted happily
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for 40 years. But the EU wasn't buying
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it. In 2019, they canceled the
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retailer's trademark, insisting that
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geographical names must belong to the
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public, not private corporations. The
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supermarket appealed and appealed again,
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but the courts held firm. Iceland's
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Minister for Foreign Affairs said her
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country views its name as a source of
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national pride. The word Iceland, she
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says, represents pristine nature and
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clean air, not frozen pizza. Last year,
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the EU's General Court struck down the
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supermarket's final appeal, ending the
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retailer's claim to the name across the
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continent. So, what happens now? Does
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the supermarket have to change its name?
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Surprisingly, no. Richard Walker,
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Iceland's current boss, has finally
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decided to throw in the towel. While
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they lost the trademark, they can still
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keep the sign on the door. In a
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surprising move to thaw relations,
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Walker is now offering discounts to the
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people of Iceland. It's a peace offering
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in the form of cheaper groceries for the
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very people they were recently suing.
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After 10 years of legal sparring, it
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seems the ice war is finally moving out
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of the courtroom and back into the
