Swedish neo-nazis group lose trademark battle with german deep-freeze company

Deep-freeze logistics company Nordfrost has won a copyright lawsuit against a Swedish neo-Nazi organization, local media reported Wednesday. The firm claimed that the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) using the term "Nordfront" for their website and promotional materials could be mistaken for their brand.

"The two labels are phonetically and visually similar, differentiated only by one letter," read Nordfrost's complaint, according to Austrian public broadcaster ORF. The German firm successfully argued that the names were too similar and that there was “an obvious risk that third parties will mistakenly get the impression that there is a commercial link".

The Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) agreed with the "number 6 in the world in the deep-freeze sector." NRM will no longer be able to use the Nordfront label.

Following a complaint to the PRV by German deep-freeze company ‘Nordfrost’ the neo-Nazi group will now have to find another name for their website.

Last year was a record year for neo-Nazis in Sweden, with 3,064 documented activities carried out by such groups, according to Swedish anti-racism foundation Expo. That number represents the highest figure since Expo began carrying out yearly studies on far-right activities in 2008.

Nordfrost says it is the world's sixth largest company in the deep-freeze sector.