The decade-long trademark dispute between Iceland and the UK supermarket chain Iceland Foods has officially been dropped.
The Executive Chair of the supermarket chain, Richard Walker, explained that the company will draw a line under the dispute after suffering its third legal loss in the past year.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Walker said: “The couple of hundred grand we would have spent in legal fees in the fourth and final round in the EU court will instead be reapplied as a rapprochement discount to the good Icelandic people. It’s something I’m going to do.”
The chain is offering “rapprochement discounts” for Icelandic people that can be used at the supermarket.
The government of Iceland initiated legal proceedings in 2016 against Iceland Foods. The dispute centred on the company’s exclusive European trademark rights to the word “Iceland,” which the government argued limited businesses from the country when trying to market and promote their products and services internationally.