EU office upholds Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus trademark

The EU Intellectual Property Office has upheld Rovaniemi’s trademark “The Official Hometown of Santa Claus”, the city said on Monday. Rovaniemi owns the trademark.

The decision followed a request to invalidate the trademark. The office said there were no grounds for doing so.

“The Official Hometown of Santa Claus” is registered in the European Union as well as in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Norway.

The invalidation request was filed by Dutch freelance journalist Lex Boon. Boon told Yle in 2025 that he was not attacking Santa Claus or Rovaniemi, but believed the fictional character’s hometown could be anywhere.