There is Samsung of South Korea, Sony of Japan, BMW of Germany and IKEA of Indonesia. Wait! IKEA of Indonesia? Yes, at least in Indonesia, if not worldwide.
Furniture giant IKEA, founded in Sweden in 1943, has lost a trademark dispute in Indonesia after the country’s highest court agreed the name was owned by a local company.
Indonesian furniture company PT Ratania Khatulistiwa registered its IKEA trademark in December 2013. It’s an acronym of Intan Khatulistiwa Esa Abadi.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was made in May last year but only surfaced publicly this week with its publication online by the court on Thursday.
It said IKEA had not actively used its trademark in three consecutive years for commercial purposes and it could be deleted under Indonesia’s trademark law.