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20 October 2017Jurisdiction reportsAurélia Marie

France jurisdiction report: A matter of taste

A company called Smilde then launched Witte Wievenkaas, a similar competing spread, so Levola sued for copyright infringement on the grounds that Smilde was reproducing the original taste of Levola’s product, consisting of the combination of specific tastes and the unique feeling caused by its consistency.

On June 10, 2015, the Dutch court of first instance rejected these claims on the grounds that Levola had not specified which element or combination of elements of the product’s taste was original and imprinted with the author’s personality, adding that it was not up to the court to proceed with a tasting session.

This issue is somewhat reminiscent of the question of protection for a smell which, even though it has not been decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), has been highly debated.

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