Imagining interdisciplinary dialogue in the European Court of Justice’s Deckmyn decision: conceptual challenges when law and technology regulate parody

Abstract

In Deckmyn v Vandersteen, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) defined parody as an “autonomous concept of EU law” with certain “essential characteristics.” The case revolved around a parodic drawing modeled after a cover of the well-known Suske & Wiske comic book series. Building on literary theory on parody, including the work of Genette, this paper will analyze both the ECJ’s reasoning in Deckmyn and the preceding Advocate General’s opinion in this case. In search for a shared vocabulary, we will focus on the specific legal interpretation in comparison to the characteristics identified from a humanities perspective. We identify opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue, which now remains too implicit in the legal documents. In addition, we will address the conceptual challenges posed by parody in the digital age. For instance, to what extent can parody’s nuanced characteristics be recognized by filter technologies as required by modern copyright law in the online environment that has become a catalyst for sharing creative content?