Food Presentations and Recipes: Is There a Space for Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Rights?

Abstract

Culinary creations involve various elements - the recipe per se, the expression of the recipe in textual or other form, the process of preparing the dish, and the presentation, or ‘plating,’ of the dish. Accordingly, a distinction is to be made between rights applicable to food presentation on the one hand, and to recipes on the other. The former is discussed in the first section of the chapter, while recipes are analysed in the second section. In the third section, different views of industry insiders and legal scholars and experts regarding the desirability of such protection are highlighted. Finally, the last section expands on whether food presentations and recipes may be protected by alternative IP rights, including patents, designs, confidential information and trade dress.

Keywords: Food, Recipes, Copyright, Intellectual Property