CIPIL Evening Seminar: 'Copyright, Trade Marks and Freedom of Expression – Has the CJEU Developed Appropriate Balancing Frameworks in Pelham II and IKEA?'

Speaker: Professor Martin Senftleben, University of Amsterdam

Abstract: With its 2026 judgments in Pelham II (case C-590/23) and Inter IKEA Systems (C-298/23), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has laid new foundations for the reconciliation of copyright and trade mark protection with freedom of expression. Considering the equal status of the right to (intellectual) property and freedom of expression in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, these rulings raise the question whether the approach taken by the CJEU offers sufficient breathing space and legal certainty to enable users to exercise their right to freedom of expression. Do the balancing factors and legal requirements established by the Court ensure effective protection of freedom of expression in copyright and trade mark contexts? Do the different legal instruments used by the Court – specific parody and pastiche exceptions in copyright; the open-ended due cause defence in trade mark law – lead to different balancing frameworks? And, if so, how can national courts navigate those differences in cases where copyright and trade mark rights overlap? For background reading, please see: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40319-024-01527-8.

Biography: Martin is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director of the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. He also works as an Of Counsel at Bird & Bird, The Hague. His activities focus on the reconciliation of private intellectual property rights with competing public interests of a social, cultural or economic nature. Current research topics include generative AI and author remuneration; open science and digital autonomy of researchers; copyright metadata improvement and recommender systems; behavioural advertising and consumer empowerment; normative concepts of “average consumer” in AI and sustainability contexts; the development of sustainable intellectual property policy. Professor Senftleben is a member of the Benelux Council for Intellectual Property and the Copyright Law Committee of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security. He provided advice to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in copyright, trademark and unfair competition projects. For the European Commission, he prepared studies on data access and reuse in research contexts. He is a member of the Trademark Law Institute (TLI), the European Copyright Society (ECS) and the Executive Committee of the Association littéraire et artistique internationale (ALAI). His numerous publications include The Copyright/Trademark Interface (2020), Generative AI and Author Remuneration (2023) and Fashion Upcycling and Trademark Infringement – A Circular Economy/Freedom of the Arts Approach (2025).
 

A small drinks reception will take place in G24 after the event. 

This event is a hybrid event - to attend online you must register via Zoom.

Enquiries to: cipil@law.cam.ac.uk