COURT MAKES SWISS CHEESE OF QUESTION ABOUT COPYRIGHTS

Can you copyright a taste?

That was the question before the Court of Justice of the European Union, which was asked to determine whether a Dutch company could claim exclusive rights to its spreadable cheese.

On Tuesday, the court offered its resounding answer: No.

Taste is “an idea,” the court ruled. It’s not an “expression of an original intellectual creation,” and therefore it can’t be protected by the law.

The case was brought five years ago by the Dutch company Levola. Levola has sold Heks’nkaas (which translates to Witches Cheese), a silky white cheese, since 2001. It’s a mix of cream cheese, parsley, garlic and leeks. In 2013, rival company Smilde began crafting a spread called Witte Wievenkaas, which also references witches. The product included many of the same ingredients.

Levola said something didn’t smell right, accusing Smilde of copying its product.

But the Court of Justice was not convinced, saying that only “original intellectual creation” is eligible for a copyright.

“The subject matter protected by copyright must be expressed in a manner which makes it identifiable with sufficient precision and objectivity,” the court said. “In that regard, the Court finds that the taste of a food product cannot be identified with precision and objectivity.” — The Washington Post