How to protect Food Presentation by Intellectual Property “We eat with our eyes first!” (Apicius) Maria Victória Rocha1 I. Introduction. – II. Copyright protection of food presentation. – III. Copyright protection of food presentation in a bidimensional way. – IV. Copyright protection of the tridimensional presentation of the dish. 4.1. Subject matter. 4.2. Work of applied art. – V. Protection of food presentation design. – VI. Cumulative protection by copyright and design. 6.1. Cofemel Preliminary Ruling 6.2. What happened after Cofemel? 6.2.1. Brompton Case. 6.2.2. Portuguese case law. 6.2.3. Case law in the EU Member States. 6.3. Does the EU design harmonization change the present uncertainty EU situation? – VII. Protection of food presentation as trademark and trade dress. – VIII. Other ways of protecting culinary creations and their presentation. – IX. Conclusion. The protection of food presentation through intellectual property law is an evolving area that intersects culinary arts, branding, and legal frameworks. Food plating and presentation may receive protection under copyright, design, trademarks, trade dress, trade secret or other means, namely self-regulatory standards, confidentiality agreements and fiduciary duties. This paper explores the legal mechanisms available to safeguard unique food presentations, including the impact that intellectual property rights may have on innovation and competition in the culinary industry. We highlight the equilibrium between artistic expression, commercial identity, and fair competition in food presentation. The right balance between protection and public domain, difficult to achieve, must guide us in an area based in heritage and innovation. DOI 10.60559/gl13 1 Professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Escola do Porto; member of CEID- Católica Research Centre For Future of Law; sênior member of GEDAI/UFPR-Grupo de Estudos de Direito Autoral e Industrial da Universidade Federal do Paraná. This work is part of the Research Project PID2023-147552NB-I00: «Industria alimentaria y bienes inmateriales» (Food Industry and Intangible Assets), funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) of Spanish Government and by European Regional Development Fund of the European Union-MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ERDF/EU. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0518-9223. Email: virocha@ucp.pt; victoriarocha@netcabo.pt
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