The Markiewicz Disputes: Parody and copyright law. The CJEU has changed the rules of the game.

In the latest installment of The Markiewicz Disputes (Dziennik Gazeta Prawna), together with Ryszard Markiewicz and Michał Markiewicz, we debate the significance of the CJEU’s new and important ruling of April 14, 2026, in the Pelham II case (Case No. C-590/23).

The dispute concerns the sampling of a 2-second fragment of a song; it has been ongoing in Germany for nearly 30 years and remains unresolved 😉 at the same time, however, it yields extremely interesting CJEU rulings, whether regarding phonogram protection or, now, the right to pastiche.

This time, the CJEU defined the concept of pastiche (an autonomous concept of EU law) in a way that, on the one hand, provides some guidance regarding this institution, but on the other hand, is so general that it may lead to very different interpretations.

Undoubtedly, however, this is a new piece in the copyright puzzle of defensive litigation strategies based on fair use.

Details in our discussion: The CJEU has changed the rules of the game. Pastiche may overturn copyright law [MARKIEWICZ DISPUTES]