Parody as a Fair Use of Freedom of Speech

The right to criticize or parody has always been a fundamental human right. In today’s world of technology and the Internet, parodies or caricatures of someone’s work are not uncommon. Technology has become so readily available that anyone can create a parody or caricature of another person’s work. The main task of the nowadays researchers is find balance between one person’s right to the inviolability of his property and the right of other persons to imitate it.

The aim of this article is to analyze the concept of parody and caricature, as well as the case law of different countries – exploring how case law assesses whether an imitated work can be defined as a parody, or whether it is an “unsuccessful” imitation. Where is the line where an author has created a parody or has already infringed the rights of another author?

The methodological basis of this article is based on general scientific approaches (analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, comparison, analogy and a systemic and structural-functional approach). The article also draws on court decisions, legislation, legal literature, publications and doctrine. Conclusions are drawn using the method of scientific induction and deduction.