European Court Clarifies When Parody On Copyrighted Work Is Allowed

In its recent Deckmyn ruling the European Court of Justice answered preliminary questions about the interpretation of the parody exception under the European Copyright Directive. Although the ECJ interpreted the parody exception quite broadly, it drew a line where the parody conveys a discriminatory message. If that were to occur, the parody would infringe copyright on the original work. The ECJ gives much room for the use of parody, making it more difficult for copyright holders to take action against it.

Background

In 2011 Johan Deckmyn, a member of the nationalist party Vlaams Belang, handed out calendars featuring a parody on the cover of the Suske en Wiske comic "The Compulse Benefactor". The lead character handing out money had been replaced by the mayor of Ghent, while the people picking the money up had been replaced by women wearing veils and people of colour. The heirs of Suske en Wiske's creator sued Deckmyn for copyright infringement, but Deckmyn