Vattenfall is one of Sweden’s largest companies

Vattenfall is an energy company with approximately 20 000 employees, owned by the Swedish government. The company has a turnover of SEK 160 billion and its primarily place of business is in Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom and Finland.

Groth & Co handles Vattenfall’s entire trademark portfolio since 2014 and, as a part of our ongoing work, we have provided Vattenfall with legal advice and actions when their new logotype was to be launched during the spring of 2018.

A new logotype requires clearance searches and trademark applications

By performing clearance searches of the logotype on a selected number of key markets, our task was to make sure that Vattenfall’s new logotype would not constitute trademark infringement of existing rights. These searches and corresponding analysis were conducted by experts in our department specialized in searches and monitoring of trademarks and domain names.  

The clearance searches showed no risk of infringement; therefore, trademark applications were filed on all key markets. Before filing the trademark applications, we also assisted the client with strategic considerations regarding which different versions of the new logotype to apply for to gain the best possible scope of protection.

The logotype was successfully launched with the legal protection rightfully in place

Vattenfall had been using its previous logotype since 1992 with only a few smaller alterations. The company has since then fundamentally changed. Vattenfall started out as a Swedish domestic electricity and energy company and is today one of the biggest energy enterprises in Europe, with the mission of becoming fossil free within one generation

The process of changing Vattenfall’s logotype and the connected visual identity was initiated in March 2018, when the company’s websites and displays in most of the more dominant places were transformed. Through our work, Vattenfall was able to avoid legal concerns by the time of the launch as well as to obtain the legal protection that comes with trademark registrations.

Thanks to Groth & Co, we were able to successfully register the new trademark and launch the new logotype without risking infringing someone else’s IP. /Caroline Falconer, Senior Legal Counsel, Vattenfall AB