Legal Considerations When Using Parodies in Advertising

Abstract

Abstract Abstract Using parodies in an advertising campaign presents legal risks to the parodists. This article examines how copyright and trademark infringement laws limit the use of parodies in advertising. Under some circumstances, an unauthorized parody of another's work in an advertisement can be legal as a fair use exception under copyright law. If a parodied trademark is involved, then the issue is whether the parodied mark is likely to be confused with the original mark. Following a discussion of the statutory and case law, guidelines for the development of legally successful parodies are offered.