Trademark Parody - Humour is ...

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... subjective and, by its nature, open to dispute. It is therefore inevitable that in cases of trademark parody the question sometimes arises: When does a simple good laugh end and a trademark infringement begin?

Parody

We frequently come across not only t-shirts and posters but also designations of products which humorously modify well-known trademarks. A reputed German dictionary describes parody as "humoristic imitation"¹. The term "parody" is the gist of the matter as humour is very subjective. So, how far does protection reach in cases where famous word marks are wilfully modified and given different meanings (e.g. STARSUCKS COFFEE, E$$O, iGOD or BABEWATCH), or cases where word-device marks are diversified in a more or less humorous way?