EU Court backs IKEA in dispute with Vlaams Belang in Belgium
The Court of Justice of the European Union, in a case from Belgium, noted that an anti-immigration campaign by the Flemish party Vlaams Belang, which imitated IKEA furniture assembly instructions, could have caused significant harm to the Swedish company’s reputation. The campaign concerned the party’s use of IKEA trademarks in political materials in 2022, Politico Europe reports.
The IKEA-Plan campaign
In 2022, Vlaams Belang presented the IKEA-Plan, a name derived from the Dutch expression Immigratie Kan Echt Anders, meaning “Immigration really can be different.” The party’s proposals for reforming Belgium’s immigration policy were designed with IKEA’s blue-and-yellow logo and smiley characters similar to those found in the company’s instructions.
An IKEA representative said at the time that the company did not want its brand to be used to create the impression that it supported certain positions. In November 2022, IKEA filed a lawsuit against Vlaams Belang in Belgium, alleging violations of trademark legislation.
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Further proceedings in Belgium
A Belgian commercial court asked the Court of Justice of the European Union about the balance between freedom of expression and a company’s right to protect its trademark. The EU Court noted that using IKEA signs solely to strengthen a political message through their reputation does not take precedence over the rights and interests of the brand.
Elena Izyumenko, a lecturer in intellectual property law at the Amsterdam Institute for Information Law, said that the lack of a connection between the campaign and IKEA’s activities, as well as the likelihood that people could consider it endorsed by the company, were important for the ruling. The case will be returned to the Belgian court, which will make a decision taking into account the interpretation of the law provided by the EU Court. A representative of the Vlaams Belang non-profit organization Vrijheidsfonds said it would examine the scope of the ruling during further proceedings.
