The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in favor of a complaint filed by IKEA against a Belgian radical party. The decision recognizes that the extremist party violated the intellectual property rights of the Swedish company.
The Belgian party used the Swedish company's name to designate its so-called "IKEA Plan", improperly appropriating the internationally known brand.
Furthermore, the extremist party used drawings similar to IKEA's furniture assembly instructions to illustrate its political project, which constituted an additional violation of the company's rights.
This CJEU decision reinforces the protection of intellectual property rights of European companies against abusive use by political organizations.
