EUROPEAN UNION: You can’t copyright taste, court rules
The taste of a food cannot be protected by copyright, the EU’s highest legal authority has ruled in a case involving a Dutch cheese. The European Court of Justice said the taste of food was too “subjective and variable” for it to meet the requirements for copyright protection. The court was asked to rule in […]
The European Union’s highest court has ruled that a food’s taste can’t be copyrighted. Here, people shop for cheese in Gouda, Netherlands, in 2015.
The taste of a food cannot be protected by copyright, the EU’s highest legal authority has ruled in a case involving a Dutch cheese.
The European Court of Justice said the taste of food was too “subjective and variable” for it to meet the requirements for copyright protection.
The court was asked to rule in the case of a spreadable cream cheese and herb dip, Heksenkaas, produced by Levola, which argued another cheese, Witte Wievenkaas, infringed its copyright.
The firm claimed that Heksenkaas was a work protected by copyright; it asked the Dutch courts to insist Smilde, the producers of Witte Wievenkaas, cease the production and sale of its cheese.
The Court of Justice of the European Union was asked by Netherlands’ court of appeal to rule on whether the taste of a food could be protected under the Copyright Directive.