The Court of Justice of the European Union has cleared the way for a possible ruling against Vlaams Belang’s non-profit arm, Vrijheidsfonds, over the far-right party’s so-called “IKEA campaign.”
In a ruling published on Tuesday, the court said VB’s right to freedom of expression did not necessarily outweigh IKEA’s interests. It added that the campaign was capable of causing serious harm to the retailer’s reputation.
A final decision will now be taken by the Belgian courts.
The case began in late 2022, when IKEA launched legal action against Vrijheidsfonds. The non-profit had created a campaign for Vlaams Belang whose design closely resembled that of the Swedish furniture giant.
Before the court, Vrijheidsfonds acknowledged that it did not have IKEA's authorisation to use the trademark. It argued, however, that the message was protected by freedom of expression.
Because both property rights and freedom of expression are fundamental rights, the Belgian court asked the EU’s top court to clarify how they should be weighed in this case.
In its ruling, the CJEU said it was for the national judge to decide which right prevailed. However, it stressed that the use of the IKEA trademark might “seriously damage” the company’s reputation.
In those circumstances, it did not appear that the use of the IKEA marks outweighed the rights and interests of their proprietor, the court said.
