Iceland Dairies Win Injunction Against Arla “Skyr” In Finland

Iceland Dairies (MS) has won an injunction against Swedish company Arla to stop using the word “skyr” to describe one of their product lines in Finland.

Kjarninn reports that Arla has until the end of the week to empty every product labeled “skyr” from every store in Finland. “Skyr” is a registered trademark in both Finland and Norway.

Arla has been marketing the product heavily in Scandinavia, much to the consternation of Icelanders. While Arla bills their product as “Icelandic style yogurt”, skyr is not a yogurt; it’s a cheese.

Below you can see one of Arla’s ads for their “skyr”, employing many homey tropes of Icelandic life from a bygone era. You can also follow the YouTube link and read numerous angry comments from Icelanders and Icelandophiles.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hLvJ5R9C9A&w=560&h=315]