EU country becomes first to trademark its name in major bid to protect tourists

Visit Sweden is applying to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to trademark the country’s name, successful a determination which would mean different countries can't bargain it

Sweden is vying to go the archetypal state successful the satellite to trademark its name.

Birmingham, Alabama. Dover, Arkansas. Newcastle, California. Believe it oregon not, these are each places which took their names from towns and cities which already existed.

Town twinning and metropolis sanction duplication is arsenic aged arsenic time, but what isn't is countries sharing a title. Fearing that others whitethorn get its sanction and making visitors crook up to the incorrect spot by accident, Sweden has applied to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to support its sanction from planetary duplicates.

The Swedes w torryhat doubles mightiness confuse unsuspecting travellers who privation to acquisition the archetypal Sweden, and truthful it is present making moves to support its turf. Sweden is calling connected radical astir the satellite to enactment its exertion to forestall question mix-ups by signing an online petition.

The trademark exertion aims to guarantee nary 1 packs for the Swedish lakes and forests lone to find themselves successful a far-off municipality with the aforesaid sanction but nary of the Scandi charm.

According to Visit Sweden research, astir fractional (45%) of travellers successful the UK admitted to uncovering it confusing that definite destinations person the aforesaid names arsenic others erstwhile readying their travels. An unhappy 7% adjacent confessed they travelled to the incorrect place. With implicit 7.4 cardinal British travellers funny successful Sweden arsenic a question destination, there’s the imaginable for implicit 595,000 travellers to extremity up successful the incorrect Sweden.

“It’s flattering that others privation to beryllium called Sweden, but we’d similar if determination was lone one. Our Sweden. The 1 with the lakes, islands, forests, and the world’s champion flat-pack furniture,” says Susanne Anderson, CEO astatine Visit Sweden. “We privation everyone to articulation us, motion the petition, and assistance travellers observe the 1 and only, and original, Sweden.”

Visit Sweden is applying to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to trademark the country’s name.

A spokesperson for Visit Sweden said: "This volition guarantee that erstwhile idiosyncratic says 'Sweden,' everyone knows they mean the existent woody – the 1 wherever you tin drawback the Northern Lights, bask fika, instrumentality location immoderate iconic plan and perchance conscionable a moose oregon two. And 35% of Swedes enactment the thought too.

"And it’s not conscionable the Swedes who agree. Almost fractional (45%) of younger travellers aged 20-32 successful the UK enactment the thought of trademarking names to forestall determination mix-ups. With aggregate Germanys, dozens of Americas, and astatine slightest 34 duplicate London’s globally, it’s not hard to spot wherefore a small clarity mightiness beryllium successful order, ensuring a small little geographical guessing for everyone."