Taste of cheese cannot be copyrighted, but perfume can be, say EU courts

The taste of a food cannot be protected by copyright, the EU's highest legal authority has ruled in a case last week involving a Dutch cheese brand. The European Court of Justice said that the taste of food was too "subjective and variable" for it to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Interestingly, the petitioners referred to a case in the year 2000 wherein the courts decreed that ‘scent’ was copyrightable. But it now transpires that while sensory perceptions are protectable, the taste buds are not seen by the courts to be as reliable. 

A Dutch cheese company tried earlier