Iceland and Iceland at a stalemate over trademark dispute

The supermarket Iceland claims that the Icelandic government is 'not willing to hold any serious discussion' to reach agreement in a trademark dispute.

The cold war continues between the supermarket and the Icelandic government. Picture: PA

The country has launched legal action against the chain, claiming it prevents the nation’s firms from describing their products as Icelandic.

Iceland Foods owns the European trademark for using the name Iceland.

The company sent a delegation to the capital Reykjavik on Friday but no agreement was reached.

“[The talks] got nowhere because it rapidly became clear that the Icelandic authorities have no interest in reaching a compromise,” said chief executive Malcolm Walker, adding: “We have no real idea why this has suddenly become such a major problem.”