Lubbi Charms Icelandic Children and their Parents

Parents of children in Icelandic pre- and primary school are likely familiar with Lubbi. This became evident when the staff at the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office (ISIPO) voted for the trademark of the month for October, with Lubbi winning by a landslide.  This cheerful, lopapeysa-clad Icelandic sheepdog has been a favourite in preschools across the country in recent years, and his recent TV series on Síminn's streaming service has made him a star among Icelandic children, rivalling even internationally renowned cartoons.

For those of us who are older and think characters like Bob the Builder or Thomas the Tank Engine still reign supreme among children’s cartoons, who exactly is Lubbi, and where does he come from?

Lubbi: October's Trademark of the Month

Behind Lubbi are speech therapists Þóra Másdóttir and Eyrún Ísfold Gísladóttir. We spoke with Þóra to mark the selection of the newly registered word and figurative trademark for Lubbi as October’s Trademark of the Month at ISIPO.

Þóra explains that she and Eyrún were working together at Talþjálfun Reykjavíkur (Reykjavik Speech Therapy) when they came up with the idea of writing a book focusing on Icelandic speech sounds rather than letters. The book was also intended as a resource for speech therapists working with children and as teaching material for preschoolers. Not content to let the idea remain on paper, they assembled a top-tier team including poet Þórarinn Eldjárn and illustrator Freydís Kristjánsdóttir to create the book Lubbi finnur málbein (Lubbi Finds the Phoneme Bone).

The inspiration for Lubbi came from the farm Litli-Árskógur in Árskógsströnd in N-Iceland, where Eyrún’s grandfather Vigfús Kristjánsson lived. He owned a diligent black-and-white sheepdog beloved by children, including Eyrún, who regularly spent summers on the farm with her grandparents.

Movements and Rhymes with Each Sound

The idea behind the book is that children learn best through play and song. Its content partly stems from Þóra’s 2008 doctoral thesis on the order in which Icelandic children acquire speech sounds. For the book, the authors developed symbolic movements near the mouth (articulators), linking activities to consonants and emotions to vowels. Inspired partly by similar international methods that use gestures to teach speech sounds, Lubbi became the linchpin of their project.

Each sound is paired with rhymes by Þórarinn Eldjárn, set to tunes familiar to preschoolers, describing Lubbi's adventures across Iceland in search of phoneme bones. The book emphasizes Icelandic nature, beautifully illustrated by Freydís, and engages children in phonological awareness through sound, movement, and song. Lubbalögin (Lubbi Songs) are now available on Spotify and YouTube, sung by the Kársnes School Choir.

Widely Used in Preschools

Lubbi’s journey began modestly but gained momentum over the years, thanks to the authors' efforts to introduce the book in preschools and at conferences on speech therapy and education in Iceland and abroad. Today, the book and its associated materials are widely used in Icelandic preschools, and many speech therapists incorporate Lubbi into their practice.

“Lubbi has taken on a life of his own,” says Þóra. “We know he’s used for much more than teaching speech sounds, including vocabulary, concepts, colors, and bridging the gap between phonemes and letters in literacy instruction.”

An active Facebook community shares tips on using Lubbi in education. One particular plush dog from IKEA, resembling Lubbi, often sells out quickly. Following the book’s success, Lubbasmiðjan has published various educational materials, including picture and activity cards for therapists and teachers, and Lubbi’s workbooks for teaching literacy basics.

35 Television Episodes

Þóra explains that while they are delighted that Lubbi is widely used in education, they are committed to overseeing how he is used, particularly in commercial contexts. The decision to register Lubbi as a trademark was influenced by two events: an approach from Síminn’s then-programming director about producing a TV series based on Lubbi, and a request from an individual seeking permission to market a Lubbi-themed board-game.

“We realized we needed to secure Lubbi’s intellectual property rights so that no one could use him without our consent,” she said.

This led to an agreement with Síminn to produce 35 episodes of Lubbi's Adventures about his journey across Iceland in search of phoneme bones. Produced by Ketchup Creative, the series premiered on Síminn in the fall to great acclaim.

Now 15 years old — over 100 in dog years — Lubbi shows no signs of aging, and it seems his adventures are just beginning.

Trademark V0134382 Registered on August 15, 2024

The application for Lubbi’s trademark was filed in April 2024, published on June 15, and registered on August 15. It covers categories such as children’s books, educational materials, toys, and clothing.

Staff Selects ISIPO’s Trademark of the Month

The Trademark of the Month initiative, inspired by other Nordic and Baltic intellectual property offices, aims to highlight the importance of trademark registration and promote ISIPO’s work. ISIPO staff select the featured trademark from recently registered or renewed Icelandic trademarks representing Icelandic products or services.

The chosen trademarks must have distinct characteristics, strong differentiation, and not be descriptive or likely to be confused with other marks. Finally, they should come with a compelling backstory—qualities that Lubbi embodies perfectly.