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European Court Decides The Taste Of Food Can't Be Copyrighted

The judges said the taste of food is too subjective for copyright protection, unlike art, literature, music and movies.
Posted at 11:13 AM, Nov 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-14 11:13:04-05

Europe's highest court decided Tuesday the taste of food can't be copyrighted.

The European Court of Justice made this ruling when a Dutch company took its competitor to court over a cream cheese product. The company said its spread called Heksenkaas was copied, and therefore, the rival cheese infringed its copyright. 

The judges said the taste of food is too subjective for copyright protection, unlike art, literature, music and movies.

The maker of Heksenkaas said it's "a pity and incorrect that the creative expression in food and perfumes do not have copyright protection."