Heks'nkaas or the 'Fifty Shades of Taste' Explained by the CJEU through EU Copyright Law

摘要

If the CJEU were to grant a prize to the 2018 most "original" copyright dispute, Levola Hengola v Smilde Foods (C-310/17) (the Heks'nkaas case) would undoubtedly stand among the nominees. The main reason why this case hit the spotlight is most probably because it touched upon the fundamentals of EU copyright law, namely its protectable subject-matter. Intriguingly, the complexities of copyright were unveiled by the following question: "Does Union law preclude the taste of food-as the author's own intellectual creation-from being protected by copyright?" Notwithstanding the court's dissenting answer, which clarified the scope of EU copyright law, it is of paramount importance to also discuss and unravel the ruling's preceding procedure, including the Opinion by the Advocate General, as it shed light on the many existing controversies within copyright law.