Food Flavours cannot be trademarked
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Written on 25
October 2014
A federal judge has ruled that no matter how good our baked ziti
tastes, the flavour cannot be protected under trademark laws.
This follows after New York Pizzeria restaurant chain- Russo
sued a
rival chain- Gina’s Italian Kitchen for alleged taste infringement.
Russo claimed they had trademark rights in the taste of their food,
they alleged that Gina’s Italian Kitchen had infringed those trademark
rights by what Judge Gregg Costa describes as “the flavour of its
Italian food and the way n which it plates its baked ziti and chicken
and eggplant parmesan dishes”
Russo’s have lost the lawsuit after judge Costa ruled that the flavour
and presentation of the disputed Italian dishes were not subject to
trademark infringement laws and further argued that the “flavour of
food undoubtedly affects its quality, and is therefore a functional
element of the product.
Judge Costa also dismissed the claims that Russo’s plating
style was
protected by trademark laws and stated that Russo’s had failed to prove
what was “distinctive and non-functional” about the way it plated its
eggplant parmesan.
Trademark rights can be acquired for words, slogans etc. that are
capable of distinguishing the goods/services of one business from those
of another. In certain limited circumstances a products features may be
capable of being a trademark (independently of the product’s brands)
and thus may also be protected under trademark laws. For this to happen
consumers must view the features of the product as signals of the
source of the product. But, however a feature can never be protected by
trademark laws when the feature in question is functional or necessary
for a technical function. This means that if it is essential to the use
or purpose of t product an also if it affects the cost or quality o the
product. Where the product in question is food, flavour will almost
always be functional. The court explained this point in more detail.
“the main attribute of food is its flavour, especially
restaurant food
for which customers re paying a premium beyond what it would take to
simply satisfy their basic hunger needs…NYPI does not allege that its
supposedly unique flavouring is merely an identifier given that the
favour of pasta and pizza has a functional purpose.
About the Author
Lawdit
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are experts in commercial law with a heavy emphasis on Intellectual
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2014-10-29 09:00:21 in Legal Articles
