IKEA v Vlaams Belang: free speech sold separately?

Political parties often borrow the familiarity of well-known trademarks to make a message more recognisable. But when does that use fall under freedom of expression, and when does it amount to taking unfair advantage of another's reputation?

In Inter IKEA Systems v Vlaams Belang (C‑298/23), delivered on 8 September 2026, the CJEU set out the criteria for assessing "due cause" in the use of marks with a reputation for political parody.

Vítor Palmela Fidalgo shares his initial takeaways on the ruling, examining how due cause is taking on the function of a fair use clause and why the room the Court appears to leave for political speech may in practice be narrower than its reasoning suggests.

Read the full article, originally published by Managing IP.