Protection of «FOOD PRESENTATION»
in the MENA REGION
Presented by: Ramzi Tarazi
APPIMAF - SABA IP
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION: Middle Eastern Cuisine
II. IP PROTECTION
1. Copyright Law
a. General Information
b. Criteria for Protection
c. Preliminary Supposition
2. Trademark Law
a. General Information
b. Criteria for Protection
c. Famous Trademarks
3. Industrial Design Law
a. General Information
b. Criteria for Protection
III. CASE STUDY: What about SHAKERMANJI?
IV. STATISTICS
V. CONCLUSION
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
I.
INTRODUCTION: Middle Eastern Cuisine
Hummus
Manakeesh
Falafel
Tabouleh
Fattoush
Moutabal/baba ghanoush
Shish tawook
Kafta
Mansaf
Baklava
Knafeh
Shawarma
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
I.
INTRODUCTION: Middle Eastern Cuisine
Youssef Akiki
Rouba Khalil
Georges Berberi
Georges El Kik
Reem Azoury
Abdallah Khoder
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
I.
INTRODUCTION: Middle Eastern Cuisine
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION:
1. Copyright Protection: Can artistic food
plating fulfill copyright’s requirement of
being an original work?
2. Trade Dress Protection: Can artistic food
plating function as protectable trade dress?
3. Industrial Design Protection: Can artistic
food plating be protected as an industrial
design?
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Copyright – General Information
• Members of Berne Convention except for
Gaza, Iran, Iraq and West Bank.
• Members of the WTO which extends to
the TRIPS agreement.
• Copyright laws introduced in all
countries, either by their own codes or by
including them in general codes, except
for Gaza, West Bank and Libya
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Copyright – Criteria for Protection
Originality
Recorded in a material form
• The design should be creative enough to meet the
originality standard of copyright law.
• There is a “fixation” requirement – tangible medium of
expression.
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Copyright – Preliminary Supposition
May meet originality
but likely not entitled
to protection because
of the fixation
requirement.
File in countries where
examination is
performed on formal
grounds only – Lebanon
and Oman. “Extend” via
Berne Convention.
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Trade Dress – General Information
• There are no specific requirements
when it comes to the registration of
marks in classes 29 and 30
• Searches between related classes,
namely classes 29 and 30, are not
performed on an ex-officio basis.
• Cross examination is not performed
unless we are dealing with a
famous mark
• All countries are members of the
Paris Convention
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Trade Dress – Criteria for Protection
Simple trademark application
Distinctiveness and functionality
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Trade Dress – Famous Trademarks
Article
6bis
duration
&
geograph
ic extent
of sales
sales
figures
advertising
figures &
samples of
advertising
awards,
reviews
& press
reports
reputation of
mark within
relevant
trade &
consumer
groups
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
expert
testimony
& surveys
II. IP PROTECTION: Trade Dress – Likelihood of Confusion
• The appearance,
pronunciation, meaning, and
commercial impression of the
respective marks
• Relatedness of goods
• Sophistication of consumers
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Industrial Design – General Information
Laws
Protection Term
Applications with
multiple figures
• Laws introduced in almost all countries.
• On average 5 to 15 years
• Possible for all countries except Gaza,
Saudi Arabia, UAE, West Bank and Yemen
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
II. IP PROTECTION: Industrial Design – Criteria for Protection
Novelty
Non-obviousness
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
III. CASE STUDY: What about SHAKERMANJI?
Video
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
IV. STATISTICS
Three-dimensional marks (shape of product) in classes 29 &
30 in 2005 - 2015
Other
Bottle*
Box*
Bar*
* less than 1%
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
V. CONCLUSION
 A number of factor would affect our decision in choosing the best filing
strategy including budget constraints , level of risk the applicant is
willing to take and the protection term required.
 It would be useful in some cases to file an application for copyright in
countries where examination in performed on formal grounds only
(Lebanon). This also applies to trademark and designs.
 Even though chefs may have these options under intellectual property
law, they are not guaranteed to prevail in an infringement action, nor
would chefs necessarily want to use intellectual property laws to protect
their dishes in light of the accepted culture of sharing and borrowing in
the cuisine industry.
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano
THANK YOU
[email protected]
22 giugno 2015 – Food Design: valore e tutela – Milano