The CEO of the UK supermarket chain Iceland Foods continues to dismiss the demand of the Icelandic government that the company withdraw its registration of the word “Iceland” as a European-wide trademark.
Read more: Iceland Foods insists they should retain a Europe-wide trademark for Iceland
Malcolm Walker, who founded the company in 1969, opening its first store in 1970, continues to claim that the Icelandic government is being unreasonable when it rejects the idea that a private company in the UK can own trademark rights to the name of a country with an 1100 year history.
Walker used the Christmas party of Iceland Foods to drive home this message, the Daily Post reports. The decision to have a “Viking theme” at the Christmas party had been taken “months ago”, before the current dispute between Iceland the supermarket and Iceland the country.
“You have seen the news this week – I don’t know whose bloody stupid idea it was to have a Viking night tonight when the Icelandic government are suing us for the name!” Walker bellowed, and then proceeded to fight a Viking on stage, killing the Viking to the great cheer of his employees.
Icelandic government: Iceland should not be a registered trademark of a private company
The Icelandic government has maintained that the supermarket chain‘s registration of “Iceland” as a trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Rights Office is unreasonably broad. The store, which operates 900 stores, virtually all of which are located in the UK, has used the registration to stop Icelandic companies from using the word Iceland to describe their origin, and even to stop the Icelandic Tourism Board from registering its campaign and official slogan “Inspired by Iceland.”
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service quotes Walker as saying that it was a “mistake” to try to sabotage the marketing campaign by the Icelandic Tourism Board: The company had not realized that the Icelandic government was behind the campaign. If the company had known this it would of course had been open to talks on how the supermarket chain and the Icelandic government could work together for the campaign to succeed.
We at Iceland Insider have to admit that we are at a loss as to why the Icelandic government should need to work with a supermarket chain in the UK on how to market Iceland as a tourism destination. The idea that a foreign supermarket chain should have any input into how Iceland, a sovereign nation with a 1100 year history, should need to engage in any sort of negotiations with a supermarket founded in 1969, when using its name internationally, is simply absurd.
Though of course if it has to come to a fight … pic.twitter.com/lXEeq8UXnX
— Malcolm Walker (@MalcolmCWalker) December 3, 2016
Funnily enough we love Iceland (the country) so much we held a Viking-themed Christmas party at our head office last night. pic.twitter.com/42dtGWvkPz
— Malcolm Walker (@MalcolmCWalker) December 3, 2016
The CEO of the UK supermarket chain Iceland Foods continues to dismiss the demand of the Icelandic government that the company withdraw its registration of the word “Iceland” as a European-wide trademark.
Read more: Iceland Foods insists they should retain a Europe-wide trademark for Iceland
Malcolm Walker, who founded the company in 1969, opening its first store in 1970, continues to claim that the Icelandic government is being unreasonable when it rejects the idea that a private company in the UK can own trademark rights to the name of a country with an 1100 year history.
Walker used the Christmas party of Iceland Foods to drive home this message, the Daily Post reports. The decision to have a “Viking theme” at the Christmas party had been taken “months ago”, before the current dispute between Iceland the supermarket and Iceland the country.
“You have seen the news this week – I don’t know whose bloody stupid idea it was to have a Viking night tonight when the Icelandic government are suing us for the name!” Walker bellowed, and then proceeded to fight a Viking on stage, killing the Viking to the great cheer of his employees.
Icelandic government: Iceland should not be a registered trademark of a private company
The Icelandic government has maintained that the supermarket chain‘s registration of “Iceland” as a trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Rights Office is unreasonably broad. The store, which operates 900 stores, virtually all of which are located in the UK, has used the registration to stop Icelandic companies from using the word Iceland to describe their origin, and even to stop the Icelandic Tourism Board from registering its campaign and official slogan “Inspired by Iceland.”
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service quotes Walker as saying that it was a “mistake” to try to sabotage the marketing campaign by the Icelandic Tourism Board: The company had not realized that the Icelandic government was behind the campaign. If the company had known this it would of course had been open to talks on how the supermarket chain and the Icelandic government could work together for the campaign to succeed.
We at Iceland Insider have to admit that we are at a loss as to why the Icelandic government should need to work with a supermarket chain in the UK on how to market Iceland as a tourism destination. The idea that a foreign supermarket chain should have any input into how Iceland, a sovereign nation with a 1100 year history, should need to engage in any sort of negotiations with a supermarket founded in 1969, when using its name internationally, is simply absurd.
Though of course if it has to come to a fight … pic.twitter.com/lXEeq8UXnX
— Malcolm Walker (@MalcolmCWalker) December 3, 2016
Funnily enough we love Iceland (the country) so much we held a Viking-themed Christmas party at our head office last night. pic.twitter.com/42dtGWvkPz
— Malcolm Walker (@MalcolmCWalker) December 3, 2016
