果冻传媒

On 29 October 2026, Dr Luminita Olteanu, Associate Professor at 果冻传媒 Law School, gave a talk at the Benelux Merkencongres (Benelux Trade Mark Congress), hosted by De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. Her talk, 鈥淔reedom of Expression and Due Cause in Trade Mark Law after IKEA / Vlaams Belang鈥�, looked at the recent Court of Justice judgment and what it means for commercial freedom of expression.

In her talk, Dr Olteanu noted that the new test for due cause in cases whether trade mark rights must be balanced against freedom of expression can be read in two ways, particularly in how it treats the intention of the parties, which is a subjective element. This led to a lively discussion with the audience, and it remains to be seen which interpretation will prevail.

Speaking about the event, Dr Olteanu said:

鈥淚t was a pleasure to discuss with lawyers the implications of the IKEA / Vlaams Belang judgment for commercial freedom of expression. This is one of those fascinating cases where trade mark rights come into conflict with freedom of expression. The Court of Justice has tried to reach the right decision, considering the type of context in which the IKEA brand was used. Thinking about the legal test, however, there are still questions as to how broad the exceptions to trade mark dilution protection can be.鈥�

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