Information for Review under TRIPS Art. 24.2 (Checklist of Questions on GIs) - View details of the document

Iceland
The Icelandic Competition Act provides the general protection of geographical indications, i.e. prohibition against unfair competition and misleading advertising. Advertisements or other information may not be misleading for the consumer concerning the origin of the product. It has to be determined in each case if an indication can be misleading. Geographical indications are also protected by Article 14.1.2 of the Icelandic Trademark Act. According to that provision, a trademark may not be registered if the mark is liable to deceive. The special protection required for wines and spirits under Article 23.1 of the TRIPS Agreement is set out in paragraph 3 of Article 14 of the Icelandic Trademark Act. The provision does not mention expressions such as "kind" or "type". It has to be determined in each case if an indication can be deceiving.
There is no distinction among those terms in the Icelandic legislation and there is no substantive criteria to distinguish them.
There is no distinction among those terms in the Icelandic legislation and there is no substantive criteria to distinguish them.
The Icelandic authorities (The Patent Office) ensure ex officio, as a part of the examination procedure and opposition procedure from third parties, that geographical indications are not registered as trademarks. If a trademark, which contains a misleading geographical indication, has been registered, it is possible to oppose the registration and the registration can be invalidated. The procedures are the normal procedures which apply in case of any trademark conflict, both administrative procedures and normal civil procedures before the courts of law.