and food industry companies. To the law, we must add self-regulation ethical codes and non-disclosure agreements. The opinion of judges, culinary industry insiders, scholars and experts differs very much as to the appropriate way to ensure that chefs’ (and cooks’) efforts are not unduly exploited. While some maintain that chefs and cooks, like any other type of creator, ought to have copyright and other types of industrial rights protection, others are hesitant in disturbing the low intellectual property equilibrium which the culinary world is believed to inhabit. Nevertheless, a simple internet search or a look at foodie magazines reveals that the issue of whether copyright and other industrial property rights should be available for culinary creativity is a clearly increasing concern to many chefs and cooks, restaurants and Intellectual Property experts. Though the culinary history relies on sharing and borrowing (the hospitality gene), as the industry develops and competitiveness between chefs, cooks and restaurants continually rises, it is understandable and inevitable that chefs, cooks, restaurants and food companies may find attractive and important to protect the culinary creations through intellectual property rights. In the coming years we will see increasingly more cases of chefs (as well as cooks, restaurant owners and food companies) claiming exclusive rights over their creations whether through copyrights or industrial property rights, or other means. This is likely to compel courts to pronounce on the matter more regularly and consistently. That’s why it is of paramount importance to strike an adequate balance between protection and free use. Overprotection can have a chilling effect on the culinary world creativity and innovation. In this study we aimed to establish the basis for this equilibrium regarding food presentation. Food presentation can be protected both in its bidimensional appearance and in its three-dimensional shape. The first type of presentation doesn’t cause specific problems regarding intellectual property rights. The protection of the three-dimensional shape of the food presentation, that is, the “plating” of the dish, is much more defying, namely in the EU. As a rule, “plating” can be protected by copyright when we are before an original artistic work. Food artistic presentations are like sculptures, and their author is an artist. In haute cuisine, they even have strong originality. The chef (cook) can be protected as an author. Nevertheless, artistic plating is a work of applied art, because besides the artistic aspects, food complies with the nutritional function. Regarding the standards for the protection of works of applied art in the EU, though, cumulation with design protection cannot be ruled out, there have 260 MARIA VICTÓRIA ROCHA
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