Little Mermaid Caricatures Violate Copyright, Danish Court Rules

Images of a “zombie-like” and “facemask-wearing” Little Mermaid violated the copyright protection for the iconic Danish sculpture, the Copenhagen City Court has ruled.

The Berlingske Tidende newspaper published images of the sculpture to illustrate articles in May 2019 and April 2020. On Monday, the court published a summary of a ruling that upheld a complaint from the estate of the sculptor, Edvard Eriksen.

Despite being widely viewed as a symbol of Denmark, the Little Mermaid enjoys copyright protection and thus cannot be portrayed in certain contexts, the court said. The ruling will now be appealed to the High Court of ...