Sweden hopes to become the first country to trademark its name

Sweden hopes to become the first country to trademark its name. Image:Shutterstock

Just as the counterfeiting of goods like handbags can be avoided by registering a trademark, the Scandinavian country wants to prevent other destinations from usurping its identity, according to its national tourism organization.

Whether it's protecting crafts from counterfeiting or ensuring the geographical origin of certain wines or foods, within the European Union, efforts are made to guarantee the authenticity of a whole host of things. But what about ensuring that vacationers actually make it to the destination they'd planned to visit? In this case, Sweden. Indeed, instead of seeing the famous northern lights in the Scandinavian kingdom, this kind of travel mix-up could see you flying to the USA to discover the town of Sweden in Maine, or jetting off to a place called Sweden on the Indonesian island of Java.

You've guessed it: there are several places in the world called Sweden. This is proving to be a problem for the Scandinavian country's tourist office, which is now on a mission to preserve the authenticity of what it considers to be the "original" Sweden, all while preventing travelers from unwittingly ending up in the wrong destination.

That's why Sweden's tourist board is hoping to register the country's name in the same way as a trademark, by filing an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Never before has a country had the idea of thinking of itself as a brand, like a luxury label, to preserve the idea of what tourists can expect from this destination. Specifically, travelers should be able to enjoy a “fika” break, meet elks and photograph Sweden's famous red houses when picturing a getaway to Stockholm and the rest of the country, without facing confusion from international duplicates.

Logically, Sweden—the European country—considers itself to be the "original" version with all the rights to this name, unlike the other Swedens elsewhere in the world.

But Sweden isn't the only destination to have several international namesakes. There are 51 places in the world named Berlin, for example, as well as 20 Londons. The place name Paris, meanwhile, comes up 48 times in Google Maps, including one such place in Sweden!