Sweden, the home of ABBA, meatballs, cozy sofas and midnight sun, has decided that it needs to protect its brand. The Scandinavian country has announced that it will apply for protection of its name (“Sweden”) to the European Union Intellectual Property Office. If the application is granted, Sweden will become the first country in the world to have its name trademarked.
The news was announced this week in a press release from the national tourism board, Visit Sweden. “Did you know that there are eight places in the world called Sweden?” the Visit Sweden website says. “That’s why we are applying to register a trademark for our country’s name. In the meantime, we will teach you how to distinguish the original from the duplicates.” “Duplicates” here seems to be a nice way of referring to “duplicates”.
Personally, I had no idea there were other places called Sweden. Business Insider mentions a number of American communities in states such as Missouri, Maine, and South Carolina that share the same name.
Business Insider also notes that countries generally do not have the right to trademark their names unless they are considered a “destination” and therefore a brand. In essence, the Swedish Tourist Board is trying to codify and protect the commercial value of its homeland.
“Visit the real Sweden is a campaign that aims to separate the original from the copies,” the Visit Sweden website continues. “The fact that other countries use the name Sweden is flattering, but the more Swedes there are in the world, the more confusing it becomes for potential tourists.”
To be honest, this sounds less like a way to avoid “confusion” for travelers and more like a really good marketing opportunity for the Swedish tourist board. I doubt that many people book flights to the wrong Sweden and end up in a completely different country than the one they planned to visit. You’d have to be really stupid to book a ticket to South Carolina and think that you’re somehow going to land in Scandinavia. I also don’t really see how formalized intellectual property can help someone who has trouble navigating.
It is also unclear whether a trademark on its own name would be a new way for the Scandinavian nation to generate revenue. After all, if Sweden is the commercial owner of its name, it stands to reason that it will also be able to charge other parties for commercial use of its “brand,” although it is unclear whether it plans to do so.
