In Trademark Fight With Far-Right Party, Ikea Scores

A Belgian campaign borrowing Ikea's look has hit a legal wall in Europe. The EU's top court on Tuesday backed Ikea in its fight against Flemish far-right party Vlaams Belang, whose 2022 "IKEA-Plan" immigration campaign mimicked the company's logo and instruction-manual figures. The Court of Justice of the European Union found the spoof could cause "significant detriment" to Ikea's reputation, reports the AP, and said using trademarks purely to amplify a political message does not outweigh a company's rights.

The case now returns to a Belgian court, reports Politico, which is expected to rule against Vlaams Belang. A party-linked nonprofit said it will study the ruling, while Ikea's IP arm welcomed the decision, saying in a statement that "IKEA fully believes in—and deeply respects—freedom of expression. At the same time, it cannot accept the use of the IKEA trademarks in ways that damage their reputation or distinctive character."