Protection of recipes and taste under Italian law Paola Gelato1 Stefano Vergano2 I. Introduction and historical background. – II. Secret recipes and trade secrets. – III. Recipes and copyright. – Taste and copyright and conclusions. The article examines how Italian law protects recipes, dishes, and tastes across IP regimes. It contrasts ancient protections like the Sibari Law’s one-year recipe monopoly with modern tools, including trade secrets for undisclosed recipes and know-how, particularly in food and wine production; limited copyright over the expressive form of published recipes (not the recipe content) per the Court of Milan; and design, trademark, and process patents used by haute cuisine chefs to safeguard dish presentation and cooking methods. It also reviews the CJEU’s Heksenkaas ruling that taste is not a “work” under current EU copyright law due to the inability to define flavours precisely and objectively, while leaving the door open if technology later enables objective identification of taste. Overall, gastronomy remains a testing ground for IP, balancing innovation incentives with dissemination. Keywords: gastronomy law, recipes, trade secrets, copyrigh, expressive form, patents, designs, trademarks, haute cuisine, dish presentation, wine industry, liqueur d’expedition, Vermouth di Torino, Court of Milan, CJEU, Heksenkaas, taste protection, Italy, IP law. I. INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The protection of recipes and taste constitutes an essential branch of gastronomy law. Original forms of protection for creativity and innovation in cooking clash with the need to disseminate new recipes, in a delicate and fascinating balance. Different interests may come into conflict and IP law, in this specific field, other than guaranteeing a certain degree of protection for DOI 10.60559/gl12 1 pgelato@jacobacci-law.com. 2 svergano@jacobacci-law.com.
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