When Brands and Art Collide: Legal Battles Over Trademark Use in Artworks

Since the 1960s and the rise of Pop Art, artists have frequently incorporated famous brand logos into their works, from Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup cans to Mario Schifano's Coca-Cola. This practice raises legal questions about trademark infringement. Italian law (Article 20 of the Industrial Property Code) allows trademark holders to prohibit unauthorized use in economic activity, but whether art constitutes such activity remains untested in Italian courts. International rulings offer guidance: In 2011, the Hague Court ruled in favor of Danish artist Nadia Plesner, whose work 'Darfurnica' depicted a child with a Louis Vuitton bag, finding the use functional and proportionate, prioritizing artistic freedom under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. EU directives (2015/2436 and 2015/2424) now explicitly consider artistic expression as a legitimate use. In the US, courts have applied fair use doctrine, as in the 'Barbie' cases (Mattel v. Walking Mountain Productions, 2003; Mattel v. MCA Records, 2002) where transformative use was upheld. More recently, in Louis Vuitton v. Warner Bros (2012), the court dismissed claims over counterfeit bags in 'The Hangover Part II', stating that no amount of discovery would favor the mark holder over free expression.