Ikea wins right to sue Belgian far-right party over trademark parody

Ikea has won the right to take legal action against a Belgian far-right political party that parodied the Swedish flatpack furniture firm’s branding in its anti-immigration campaign.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Europe’s highest court said that Ikea had the right to oppose the use of its trademarks and distinctive graphics by Vlaams Belang, a rightwing Eurosceptic political party that advocates for an independent Flemish state.

The court found that Vlaams Belang’s use of Ikea’s trademarks to illustrate its policy on asylum and immigration could “cause significant detriment to the repute” of the company.

The party, which has called for a near total stop to immigration and limitations on the building of mosques, had used Ikea’s branding in political material published in 2022.

One image featured characters modelled on the cartoon people used in Ikea instructions, one carrying a flag featuring a lion – the symbol of Flanders – and another holding a shield in Ikea’s distinctive blue and yellow livery.

The image was titled “Ikea plan” with the subtitle “Immigration really can be different.”

After Ikea issued proceedings against Vlaams Belang, the party argued that its freedom of expression should override the Swedish company’s rights over its brand.

But the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Tuesday that Ikea could proceed with legal action against Vrijheidsfonds, the association behind the party.

In a statement, the court said “it does not appear that the use of the Ikea trademarks for the sole purpose of taking advantage of their reputation to reinforce a political message and increase its dissemination, takes precedence over the rights and interests of the proprietor of those trademarks.”

However, it said a final decision on the dispute could only be made in subsequent legal proceedings in a Belgian court.

Pauline Piernez, a trademark and design associate at Marks & Clerk, an intellectual property law firm, said: “While the CJEU rightly confirms that political parody is not prohibited, it also makes clear that freedom of expression is not a blank cheque to appropriate the identity of a famous brand simply to amplify a message.

“In this case, the court found that the use of the Ikea trademarks was liable to damage their reputation and was primarily intended to take advantage of their notoriety in order to increase the reach of a political message entirely unrelated to Ikea itself.

“The decision should be welcomed as an important safeguard for the system of protection afforded to reputed trademarks.

“Inter Ikea fully believes in – and deeply respects – freedom of expression,” the company said in a statement. “At the same time, it cannot accept the use of the Ikea trademarks in ways that damage their reputation or distinctive character, particularly when such use serves no other purpose than to free-ride on the reputation of the Ikea brand.”

Vlaams Belang said its campaign association had taken note of the judgment and that it “will thoroughly study its scope in the context of the further legal proceedings”.