The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on September 8 in Case C-298/23, Inter IKEA Systems BV v. Vlaams Belang, that a defendant's reliance on freedom of expression does not, by itself, establish "due cause" to use a well-known trademark without the owner's consent. The case arose after the Belgian political party Vlaams Belang launched a campaign in November 2022 styled as the "IKEA-PLAN" for reforming asylum and immigration policy, using signs corresponding to IKEA's trademarks and imagery resembling its assembly instructions. The Court held that national courts must instead balance the trademark owner's property rights against the third party's freedom of expression, treating neither right as absolute, and that Inter IKEA can oppose the use unless Vlaams Belang can show its expressive interest outweighs the trademark owner's rights. The ruling leaves the ultimate outcome to the referring Brussels court applying this balancing test, but clarifies under EU trademark law that a political or expressive purpose does not by itself immunize the use of another company's trademarks from an infringement claim.