Iceland supermarket is in a battle with the country of the same name over a dispute about its trademark.
The supermarket, founded in 1970, has been trying to trademark its name for several decades but has faced resistance from the nation that has been independent since 1944.
The state is concerned it wouldn't be able to call some of the products it makes 'Icelandic', if the shop giant wins its legal battle, according to Wales Online.
The country argues: "Iceland is widely received as a geographical name and should have never been approved for trademark in the first place".
"It would mean that Icelandic companies could possibly not use the word Iceland in their trademarks to designate the products they’re selling," said Margret Hjalmarsdottir, an attorney at the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office.
The European Union ruled against the business giant in 2019, who appealed the decision and it will now go to the Grand Board of EU Intellectual Property Office.
The office decides on trademark matters for each of the 27 nations that are its members.
The 2019 ruling said: "It has been adequately shown that consumers in EU countries know that Iceland is a country in Europe and also that the country has historical and economic ties to EU countries, in addition to geographic proximity."
The supermarket first applied to the EU in 2002 when it was owned by a business group from the island in the Atlantic.
It became operated by the banks after the 2008 financial crash before founder Malcolm Walker retook control in 2014.
In 2016, Walker said: "We have no desire whatsoever to stand in the way of Iceland the country making use of their own name to promote their own products, so long as it does not conflict or cause confusion with our own business.
"I am sure there is ample scope for an agreement that will allow both parties to continue to live and work amicably alongside each other."
In the long legal war between the two, a period of apparent victory for the retailer appeared when a trademark was granted in 2016, but it was given to the 'Islandsstofa' company.
Islandsstofa turned out to be the Icelandic government, which then won the ruling in 2019.
At the time Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Þor Þordarson said: "It goes against common sense that a foreign company could file exclusive rights on the name of a sovereign country. This is a significant victory which means a great deal to Icelandic exporting companies."
A final decision is likely next year.
