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Comedian and writer Aron Flam was charged with copyright infringement after using Bertil Almqvist’s “A Swedish Tiger” on the cover of his book “This is a Swedish Tiger”. On the cover, the tiger does a Nazi salute and wears a swastika. The other party in the case is the Museum of Emergency Preparedness, which owns the rights.
During the trial, prosecutor David Ludvigsson said the changes Flam has made should be considered too small for it to be a new job, and that the release was extensive. He also objected to calling it a parody, since in that case there must be a measure of humorous or ridiculous purpose. Therefore, the prosecutor demanded the suspension of the sentence and the daily fine.
The Patent and Market Court at the Stockholm District Court makes a different assessment and acquits Aron Flam on the indictment. The verdict announced on Friday morning establishes that Flam’s tiger is a parodic element in his communication and that his use of the tiger therefore falls within the so-called parody exception, a principle that has been held in Swedish law developed in judicial practice with the support of EU law. .
– The decision of the Patent and Market Court addresses the fundamental question of where the line goes between copyright and permitted parodies. The court has found Aron Flam’s Tiger to be too similar to the original work to be a new, independent work. On the other hand, the statement that Aron Flam presented to the court has shown that Aron Flam, with the fist of parody, has only wanted to question the message with which he is historically associated with “A Swedish tiger”. By balancing opposing interests in the case, the court has concluded that it has been allowed, says the court’s presiding judge, Councilor Carl Rosenmüller in a press release.
The text is updated
Read more:
Aron Flam in court: “Equal parts humiliation and pride in being here”
Now the court will decide if Aron Flam made a punishable tiger
According to Svensson: “It would be a scandalous sensation if Aron Flam were sentenced”
