Should European Trade Mark Law Include an Explicit Parody Exception as a Limitation to Trade Mark Rights? : A focus on consumers of trade marks with reputation

Abstract: This thesis seeks to determine whether or not the inclusion of an explicit parody exception would be beneficial for EU trade mark law. The thesis presents all the variables that need to be taken into account in the decision, putting a special emphasis in the importance of considering the negative effects that a hypothetical inclusion can have on the consumers of the parodied reputed trade marks as this variable has been widely disregarded among scholars. Moreover, in this thesis it is considered that an explicit inclusion of the parody exception in EU trade mark law might be recommended for cases of non-commercial expression and mixed expression but not for cases of merely commercial expression.