Five Nordic trademark registers. One month. 1,916 entries. The May 2026 data from Sweden (PRV), Norway (Patentstyret), Denmark (DKPTO), Finland (PRH) and Iceland (ISIPO) reveals a surprisingly international filing landscape – with U.S. building materials giants, Chinese automakers, Scandinavian pharma players and a wave of AI-branded startups all competing for trademark real estate in Northern Europe.
This analysis by infobrokerworld.com breaks down who filed, what they filed, and what it signals for businesses operating in the Nordic region.
The Numbers at a Glance
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total entries (May 2026) | 1,916 |
| New filings (Filed) | 1,666 (87.0 %) |
| Registrations completed | 237 (12.4 %) |
| Lapsed / ended | 13 |
| Countries covered | SE, NO, DK, FI, IS |
| Average classes per filing | 2.19 |
| Filings with 10+ classes | 28 |
Country Breakdown: Sweden and Norway Lead, Iceland Surprises
Sweden and Norway together account for over 64 % of all entries. The real eyebrow-raiser is Iceland: with 310 filings for a country of roughly 380,000 people, the ISIPO register is clearly being used by international applicants as a strategic entry point – not just a domestic formality.
| Country | Register | Total | Filed | Registered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden (SE) | PRV | 656 | 561 | 93 |
| Norway (NO) | Patentstyret | 578 | 486 | 88 |
| Iceland (IS) | ISIPO | 310 | 305 | 0 |
| Finland (FI) | PRH | 221 | 164 | 56 |
| Denmark (DK) | DKPTO | 151 | 150 | 0 |
| Total | 1,916 | 1,666 | 237 |
Denmark and Iceland show zero registrations in May – both offices apparently publish new filings promptly but release registration confirmations on a different schedule. Finland stands out with a 25.3 % registration rate, suggesting the PRH processes applications relatively quickly.
Trademark Types: Words Rule, Sound Marks Are a Rarity
Word marks dominate at 65 % – consistent with filing trends across Europe. They offer the broadest scope of protection and are the most straightforward to enforce. A notable curiosity in this dataset: one sound mark made it into the Nordic registers in May 2026. Acoustic trademarks – think jingles or signature melodies – require an audio file or musical notation for registration and are exceptionally rare in practice.
| Trademark Type | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Word mark | 1,245 | 65.0 % |
| Combined mark (word + figurative) | 582 | 30.4 % |
| Figurative mark | 84 | 4.4 % |
| 3D mark | 2 | 0.1 % |
| Sound mark | 1 | 0.1 % |
Top 15 Filers in May 2026
The leaderboard reads like a cross-section of global industry: a U.S. building materials group, a French vaccine giant, Scandinavian pharma companies, Chinese car brands and a crypto operator. Owens Corning topped both the Nordic and Swiss registers in the same month – a textbook example of coordinated pan-European brand protection.
| Rank | Applicant | Country | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owens Corning Intellectual Capital, LLC | USA | 14 |
| 2 | Nike Innovate C.V. | NL | 10 |
| 2 | SANOFI R&D VACCINS | FR | 10 |
| 4 | Pharmaq AS | NO | 8 |
| 4 | Milströms AB | SE | 8 |
| 4 | CHONGQING CHANGAN AUTOMOBILE CO., LTD. | CN | 8 |
| 7 | The Procter & Gamble Company | USA | 7 |
| 8 | Viestimedia Oy | FI | 6 |
| 8 | Eisai R&D Management Co., Ltd. | JP | 6 |
| 8 | Tether Operations, S.A. de C.V. | MX | 6 |
| 11 | Unimaze ehf. | IS | 5 |
| 11 | STADA Arzneimittel AG | DE | 5 |
| 11 | Berner Oy | FI | 5 |
| 11 | Veikkaus Oy | FI | 5 |
| 11 | Anders Nekkøy Agledal | NO | 5 |
Pharma is the dominant sector story. SANOFI (10), Pharmaq (8), Eisai (6) and STADA (5) all feature prominently – reflecting Scandinavia’s appeal as a healthcare market, particularly Norway and Finland.
Chinese automakers are signalling market entry. Changan (8 entries) and Chery (4 entries) are filing aggressively in Nordic registers – a reliable early indicator of planned commercial expansion into Northern Europe.
Nice Classes: Where the Activity Concentrates
Class 35 (Commerce & Advertising) and Class 9 (Technology & Software) lead the field – a pattern seen across European registers. What sets the Nordic data apart: Class 37 (Construction & Repair Services) ranks higher than in comparable markets, and Class 5 (Pharmaceuticals) breaks into the top 6, reflecting the sector dominance visible in the filer rankings.
| Rank | Nice Class | Description | Mentions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Class 35 | Advertising, business management, retail | 444 |
| 2 | Class 9 | Technology, software, electronics | 410 |
| 3 | Class 41 | Education, entertainment, sport, culture | 364 |
| 3 | Class 42 | Scientific services, IT, software development | 364 |
| 5 | Class 25 | Clothing, footwear, headgear | 187 |
| 6 | Class 5 | Pharmaceuticals, medical preparations | 167 |
| 7 | Class 37 | Construction, repair services | 146 |
| 8 | Class 44 | Medical and veterinary services | 143 |
| 9 | Class 36 | Financial services, insurance, real estate | 134 |
| 10 | Class 43 | Food services, accommodation | 132 |
Standout Filings Worth Knowing About
WALGREENS: 25 Nice Classes in Iceland
The single broadest filing of the month came from Walgreen Co. (USA): the mark „WALGREENS” was entered in Iceland’s register covering 25 Nice classes – the maximum across the entire Nordic dataset. For one of the largest pharmacy and drugstore chains in the United States, this looks like blanket protection ahead of a potential European push.
AI Branding: 12 Entries, Finland Leads
Twelve filings in the dataset carry a clear AI reference in the brand name – with Finland accounting for four of them. Highlights include AIKAKONE (Finnish for “time machine”, positioned as an AI product), Muist.ai (from “muisti” = memory) and Denmark’s gymgpt – perhaps the most concise example of current AI branding: a direct GPT reference combined with a sector label, instantly readable and sharply positioned.
Pangdonglai: A Chinese Retailer Files in Norway
Xuchang Pangdonglai Trade Group – a Chinese supermarket group that has attracted significant international attention for its unconventional customer-first model – filed two marks of 16 Nice classes each in the Norwegian register: „FREEDOM & LOVE” and „PANG DONG LAI”. An early but deliberate step toward European brand protection.
What This Tells Businesses Operating in Northern Europe
The May 2026 Nordic trademark data makes a few things clear:
- The Nordic registers are actively used by international players well beyond the region – from U.S. pharma to Chinese automakers to Icelandic tech startups.
- Filing date is priority date. Even where registrations haven’t yet appeared (Denmark, Iceland), the filing timestamp is what counts legally. Monitoring new filings – not just completed registrations – is essential.
- AI-branded trademarks are accelerating across all five countries, particularly in Finland.
- Companies with any footprint in Scandinavia should treat all five registers as a single monitoring space. A conflict filed in Norway today can affect your position in Sweden or Finland tomorrow.
Source: PRV (SE), Patentstyret (NO), DKPTO (DK), PRH (FI), ISIPO (IS) | Data: May 2026 | Analysis: infobrokerworld.com
? Need professional trademark monitoring across Nordic registers? Learn how we can help ?
