A far-right Belgian party was not entitled to use IKEA’s trademarks to promote an anti-immigration campaign and may have caused “significant detriment” to the furniture giant’s reputation, the European Union's highest court ruled on Tuesday.
In 2022, the Belgian far-right and Flemish separatist party Vlaams Belang unveiled what it called the “IKEA Plan – Immigration Really Can Be Different” at a press conference, using IKEA-style logos, signs and imagery to present proposals aimed at tightening immigration rules in Belgium.
IKEA brought an infringement action before a Belgian court, arguing its trademarks were used illegally. In response, the Vrijheidsfonds association, which was in charge of the campaign on the party’s behalf, argued that its use of the company’s trademarks without permission was protected by freedom of expression.
The Belgian court referred the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which found that “the use of those IKEA trade marks may cause significant detriment to the repute of those trade marks and to the interests of their proprietor."
The court said invoking freedom of expression in such cases requires the trademarks to be used in good faith or in the public interest, conditions that did not appear to be met. It added that it did not appear that using IKEA’s reputation to disseminate a political message took precedence over IKEA’s rights and interests.
While the Belgian court will make the final decision, it is expected to take the ECJ’s guidance into account when issuing its ruling.
