We contributed to the Liber Amicorum for our fine colleague Benoît Michaux (Université de Namur/Auteurs & Media) at the occasion of his retirement. The chapter focusses on a case opposing the Danish artist Ole Ahlberg with the heirs (and copyrightholders of the work) of Hergé (TinTin) and René Magritte. It contains an analysis of the subsequent judgments in this case on parody, freedom of expression and procedural guarantees in Belgian copyright law, culminating in the controversial judgment by the Court of Cassation annuling the Brussels’ Court of Appeal judgment and referring the case to the Court of Appeal in Liége where the case was discontinued.

Reference is also made to the parody-jurisprudence by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU 14 September 2014) and to a judgment by the Danish Supreme Court of 17 May 2023 in which it is stated that the protection of parody is rooted in established Danish and pan-Scandinavian tradition as supported by the legislative history behind the Danish Copyright Act and case-law. The Supreme Court also referred to the fact that the concept of parody must be interpreted with reference to EU law, and that a fair balance must be struck between, on the one hand, the interests and rights of the copyright holders and, on the other, the freedom of expression.

Dirk Voorhoof, “Een terugblik op een onverkwikkelijke Deens-Belgische affaire”, in E. CORNU (dir), Liber Amicorum Benoît Michaux, Penser en éclaireur, Bruylant/Lefebvre Group, 2025, 349-366, https://www.larcier-intersentia.com/nl/liber-amicorum-benoit-michaux-9782802776895.html / ISBN978-2-8027-7689-5